Local agencies are increasingly looking at converting low-trafficked paved roads to gravel at the end of their life span to make their budgets stretch. However, agencies have few resources to guide them in this process.
The Minnesota Local Road Research Board recently approved funding for a guidebook on effective practices for converting severely distressed paved roads to unpaved roads. The document will help engineers select roads for conversion, safely conduct conversions and communicate the rationale to the public. No such published document currently exists.
Montana State University researchers has been hired to develop the guidebook based on needs the research team previously identified in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s Synthesis 485, “Converting Paved Roads to Unpaved. The guidebook, anticipated to be published in late 2019, will include flowcharts that guide practitioners through decision-making processes. A companion webinar is also planned.
The guidebook will be divided into chapters, which will cover:
- Methods to determine if a road is a candidate for conversion and determine the existing road materials and condition.
- Methods to convert a road from paved to unpaved.
- Methods to assess the life-cycles cost of construction and maintenance of the unpaved road.
- Tools to effectively inform and communicate with the public
- Safety implications of converting a severely distressed paved road to an unpaved road.
Background
While low-volume roads are typically identified as having an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of less than 400, roads that are appropriate candidates for conversion will typically have an AADT of less than 150.
These roads are often used by agricultural and extraction industries or to access homes and recreational areas. The type of road users, traffic patterns and vehicle types are all factors that need to be considered in the decision to unpave a road. Other factors include road condition, safety, agency maintenance and maintenance capabilities, as well as a life-cycle cost comparison of maintenance options (continued maintenance of the deteriorating road, rehabilitation of the paved road or conversion to an unpaved surface).
According to the research team, very limited information is available about converted roads, and what information is available often comes in the form of newspaper articles and anecdotal accounts of road conversions.
The document will serve as a formal and peer-reviewed information source. The use of the guide and acceptance of the practice of converting from paved to unpaved surfaces (unpaving) where warranted will provide a case for the acceptance of road conversions as another low-volume road management strategy.
Watch for new developments on this project.