Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Jointly prepared by
David Edge - Roading Manager, Hurunui District Council Ken Avant - Road Projects Engineer, Waimakariri District Council Carl Grabowski - Senior Transportation Engineer, MWH

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Introduction
Management & Budgetary Constraints Ratepayer, Road-user & Council Expectations Levels of Service Alternatives to Long-term Maintenance Reliable good old Methods & Innovative Alternatives Optional Sustainable Options Questions

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Management & Budgetary Constraints

Sealing Roads = favoured option for Road Users & Councils (comfort, lower maintenance, etc). Although maintenance costs can be relatively high, LV Roads do not easily qualify for Seal Extension funding. Councils / Contractors constantly searching for methods to reduce maintenance needs. Crab Bucket Syndrome & sharing of cross-boundary efficiencies. Sustainable roading research & workshops.

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Ratepayer, Road-user & Council Expectations

Ratepayer Road-user Council Meet contractual specification, prompt & effective response. Well bound running course, cost-effective dust suppressants, low environmental impacts. Contractual compliance (environmental mtce, shape, drainage, max road width maintained. Contractual drainage compliance - safety, asset maintenance & environmental. Relatively smooth - no Minimum corrugations & corrugations / potholes, potholes - road user minimum flying gravel. comfort, safety & traction. Minimum dust nuisance (inhalation & household effects). Use of the shoulder / verge (landscaping, parking, etc). Stormwater mgmt within road corridor. Minimum dust nuisance (visibility & vehicle effects). Verge scrub-free / well maintained to improve visibility, emergency / rest stopping. No ponding, rutting, rilling, potholing, aquaplaning.

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Typical examples of rural heavies causing major damage to our unsealed roads:

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Levels of Service

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Contract Issues
Clear wording in documents Total Management Systems Good grader regimes Maintenance Contractors buy-in & investment Partnering agreements to share benefits / losses Kaizen Continuous improvement - not just BAU

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Alternatives to Long-term Maintenance

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Foamed Bitumen stabilization of an unsealed road Kennedys Hill Road, Waimakariri District
Steep, windy section Layer thickness / fines Drainage issues Further maintenance Ongoing monitoring

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Good finish Cracking Drainage Surplus material Some potholes Maintenance

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Otta Seals - Local & International Practice

Single chip seal with prime & binder (13.2mm) thickness = ALD (8 - 10mm) Single Otta seal with binder & graded aggregate (no prime) thickness = minimum 16mm Double Otta seal with binder & graded aggregate (no prime) thickness = minimum 32mm

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions Type Single Otta seal Single Otta seal with sand cover Additional No sand cover Application Temp. seals & maint. reseals Expected life (Years) 5 - 6 (dependant on surfacing type & quality) 9 - 11 10 - 12

Fine sand in the AADT 500 sand cover Crusher dust or river sand in the sand cover

Double Otta seal

AADT > 500

12 - 15

Detailed info available in comprehensive guideline produced by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (1999)

A Guide to the Use of Otta Seals

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Fulton Hogan have done several trials

Mayes Rd, HDC (Nov. 2004) AADT 500 Unsuitable materials Good finish & drainage Life Cycle cost benefits No maintenance Keddell Road, Central Otago DC Mayes Road, Hurunui DC Church Road, Dunedin CC Sinclair Road, Southland DC Peroa Road, Gisborne DC

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Otta Seal - Proposed Bramleys Road application (WDC)

Issues Dust nuisance Rutting & potholes Drainage

Choice Influences Regular complaints Good structure / shape Low volume (117/day) Drainage - minor work

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Otta Seal - International Practice

International Norway / Sweden / Iceland Kenya / Botswana / Zimbabwe / SA Bangladesh / Australia

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Otta Seal - International Practice

(a)

(c)

(b)

Single Otta seal with sand cover seal in Botswana beds down after a few months in service (a) and (b), and still looks good after 9 years in service (c).

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Otta Seal - International Practice

(a)

(b)

(c)

Single Otta seal in Bangladesh aggregate spread by hand (a), compacted with loaded trucks (b), beds down and looks good after 2 years in service (c).

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Otta Seal - International Practice

(a)

(c)

(b)

(d)

Otta seals in Kenya (a) and (b) and South Africa (c) and (d) using natural quartzitic and laterite aggregates.

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Reliable good old Methods & Innovative Alternatives

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Issues with reliable good old methods

Smoothing vs. Rip & Reshape TTM during maintenance operations Heavy vehicles & gravel loss Raised shoulder syndrome

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Innovative Alternatives
Overgrown shoulder - reclaiming road width Consider landowner concerns - metal-wash, mowing, etc. Tractor mounted shoulder trimming - soil / vegetation build-up on shoulder trimmed back to regain metal width (Killiner Contracting, NZ)

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Raised shoulder syndrome Tractor or grader mounted shoulder reclaimer available to eliminate soil / gravel build-up on shoulder - loosened and swept off or re-used. All American Disk - Doyle Inc, Minnesota, USA Tiger Claw - Agriquip Ltd, New Plymouth, NZ Killiner Contracting, NZ

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Shoulder reclaiming available locally (Killiner Contracting, NZ) Trialed in various N-Island districts Potential for minimum 20km/day (both sides) @ approx. $0.05/m Reclaims between 50 - 100m3 material (mostly metal) / side / km TLAs in USA - annual cycle in maintenance contracts

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Pneumatic (tyred) roller mounted on rear of grader (locally available - Walk n Roll International Ltd, Auckland) and various blade attachment options (used by Sicon / SDC) can make rural road maintenance a little easier.

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Towed machinery used in USA to pulverize gravel and sod windrows into re-usable material on unsealed roads.

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Optional Sustainable Solutions

Cost / benefit comparison of options being investigated as alternatives to Grader maintenance
Reclaimed metal + Ballast + Cement stabilisation Reclaimed metal + Otta seal Re-metalling + Otta seal Stabilisation (Cement / FB) + Seal (Otta / Chip) AWT (Full reconstruction + Chip seal)

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Useful References / Acknowledgements

A Guide to the Use of Otta Seals - Norwegian Public Roads Administration Tractor-Mounted Shoulder Reclaimer - Works Well and Saves Money US Roads, Road Management Journal A Ditch in Time - Rural Home Technologies, Road/Driveway Maintenance Gravel Roads: Maintenance & Design Manual - Section V: Innovations US Environmental Protection Agency Unsealed Roads are Sustainable - 1997 IPENZ Conference (Alan Ferry) Replacing Waste Oil as a Dust Minimisation Technique - Jeff Waters (FH) 2007 LV Roads W/shop Presentation The All American Disk - Doyle Inc. (video clip on Google / YouTube) Tiger Claw marketing material supplied by Richard Capper, Agriquip

Gravel Road Maintenance Issues & Sustainable Solutions

Questions?

Thank You