Local agency budgets can’t accommodate all low-volume rural roads in need of resurfacing. Although the conversion of severely distressed low-volume paved roads to 
engineered unpaved, or gravel, roads has been practiced throughout the country, there is little literature about the practice. A 2015 National Cooperative Highway Research Program synthesis presents this practice in detail. Minnesota’s Local Road Research Board used relevant material from this study to develop an accessible, succinct guide that addresses the common questions road managers ask about road conversion process. Local road managers can consult the guide and accompanying training video to determine if conversion of distressed low-volume roads to better, economically engineered unpaved roads is an appropriate solution for them.