Low-Volume Roads Engineering: Best Management Practices

Abstract

The concept and application of best management practices (BMPs) for low-volume roads projects were studied. BMPs are techniques or design practices that will prevent or reduce nonpoint pollution, maintain water quality, and help produce well-built roads. A Low-Volume Roads Engineering Best Management Practices Field Guide was developed to address those key practices. Roads that are not well planned or located, not properly designed or constructed, not well drained, not well maintained, or not made with durable materials often produce negative impacts, most of which are preventable with good engineering and road management practices. A number of key practices and design techniques can be used to prevent adverse impacts on roads. First a road must serve the needs of the user through good transportation system planning. Long-term cost-effectiveness and minimized impacts are then achieved through application of good design and maintenance practices, including a road location that avoids problematic areas such as slides or springs; positive surface drainage; adequately sized and appropriate drainage crossing structures; stable cut and fill slopes; use of erosion control measures; roadway surface stabilization; and materials source development with subsequent site reclamation.

Forest operations, extreme flooding events, and considerations for hydrologic modeling in the Appalachians—A review

“…Ideally, roads systems should be carefully designed so that environmental impacts are minimized (Kochenderfer, 1977;Walbridge, 1997;Megahan et al, 2001;Keller and Sherar, 2003). Well-designed road systems minimize connectivity with streams and conform to the topography as much as possible (Sidle and Onda, 2004).…”

Estimating Costs and Effectiveness of Upgrades in Forestry Best Management Practices for Stream Crossings

“…Typical methods of erosion minimization involve control of quantity and velocity of water on road surfaces, location of roads on desirable grades and terrain, provision of adequate road drainage and road cover, control of traffic, maintenance of permanent roads, closure of temporary roads, and design of appropriate stream crossings [10,[27][28][29][30][31].…”

Who pays for and who benefits from improved timber harvesting practices in the tropics?: lessons learned and information gaps

“…In hilly terrain, for example, the construction of a kilometre of logging road may cost US$30 000 or more. Our goal here is not to review the engineering standards for logging roads, which are readily available (e.g., Keller and Sherar 2003) and generally figure prominently in RIL guidelines, but rather to consider why poor road building and maintenance practices typify many tropical forest harvesting operations. Nevertheless, it is important to point out that compliance with the engineering standards for tropical forest road construction, as outlined in many codes of practice, depends on the availability of accurate and precise maps (Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission 1999, Wells 2001.…”