In a recent two-part series on how to think about the costs associated with unpaved roads, we introduced the idea that utilizing effective dust control and stabilization can allow you to create a road that has the low overall carrying costs of a gravel road but also has the strength and durability of a paved road. Today we’ll be tackling a …
Road Management Process: Extending the Lifecycle and Performance of Unpaved Roads
In the previous article in this series, we discussed how to understand the various road maintenance costs that go into your road management process including the repair and rebuilding of unpaved versus paved roads. Midwest has developed a proprietary method for achieving the pros of both paved and unpaved roads, while minimizing the cons of both, based on our latest research and …
Unpaved vs Paved Roads: Understanding the Hidden Road Maintenance Costs That Drain Your Budget
How far in the future do you plan your road maintenance costs? Many county officials only make it through the next year, responding to needs as they arise. They track annual road maintenance costs using those numbers to make decisions going forward. But even with such a short-sighted view, it’s easy to see the challenges ahead: rising maintenance costs, stagnating …
Life on the Side of an Unpaved Road
The Stories and Science Behind the Plague of Fugitive Gravel Road Dust Google “residents complain about road dust” and you’ll get over 17 million results, with lists of local news articles citing community complaints about the detrimental effect of gravel road dust. If you’re a county or municipal official who has anything to do with county or township road management, …
A Prison of Dust — the Impact of Unpaved County and Township Roads on Rural Communities
For rural towns in Alaska and Canada, unpaved roads present a tangible threat to the very community itself. Residents are, in some places, literally confined to their houses during particularly dry seasons. Fugitive dust from unpaved roads shuts down tourism, affecting the local economy. It causes damage to vehicles, therefore requiring more repairs, increasing the financial burden on families. And the …