Cost estimators for construction of forest roads in the central Appalachians

Regression equations were developed for estimating the total cost of road construction in the central Appalachian region. Estimators include methods for predicting total costs for roads constructed using hourly rental methods and roads built on a total-job bid basis. Results show that total-job bid roads cost up to five times as much as roads built than when equipment is rented hourly. The estimates presented are for well-drained, stone-surfaced, permanent, minimum- to high-standard roads.