Unsealed Gravel Roads Management: State-of-the-Practice in American Counties

摘要

This paper provides insights into the current state of unsealed earth and gravel roads manage39ment, with a particular emphasis on the rural counties of the American west. As part of an effortto develop an unsealed roads management methodology, the Wyoming Technology TransferCenter compiled considerable information about unsealed roads management practices both inthe USA and abroad. The results of two recent surveys help describe the current state of road43way management by smaller agencies.Various approaches to implementing roadway management systems in small agencies are de45scribed, as are problems with generating unsealed road inventories, particularly as legal compli46cations impact counties. Problems with cost tracking systems developed for accounting purpos47es, rather than for road management purposes, are described and discussed. Finally, barriers toimproving unsealed roads management are discussed, along with ways these problems may beovercome.