SCOPING STUDY: IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT ON MINNESOTA'S LOW VOLUME ROADS

With larger farms and continuously improving farming techniques has come the demand to increase equipment carrying capacity. Consequently, larger and heavier agricultural equipment operates on Minnesota's public highways and local roads. To investigate the severity of the problem in Minnesota, the Office of Materials and Road Research, along with the Office of State Aid, conducted a study to describe the general scope of the problem in Minnesota. In addition to a brief literature and law review, three tasks were selected as research tools for this project. The tasks included a survey of Minnesota county engineers, field visits of selected sites, and an assessment of typical agricultural loads and their effect on the pavement structure. The findings of these scoping tasks are presented in this report, along with recommendations and possible alternatives for future action.