Hello to all.

This is our third newsletter from www.unsealedroads.com a web site all about managing unsealed road networks on limited budgets.

This month we have updated the web site format and images to hopefully make it more pleasing to the eye, have a look and if you have any comments please email me.

This month I will talk a little about some management techniques.

Management Techniques 

Road Classification
Grouping like roads for easy of Management and Prioritising

Used to help assign maintenance (Budgeting) and priority (Programming) for unsealed roads networks.

Below is an example of a simple road classification that some of the councils that I’m working with are using. They are using a 1-6 road class that has a direct link with the Alliance Class, yet is used because it is easier to communicate. Yet really any classification system will work.

 

Rural Alliance Class	Simple Class Levels	Simple Class Description
3	Class 1	Arterial roads - Route carrying a main flow with many branches
4a	Class 2	Major Collector roads - Collects from local access roads to distribute to an Arterial road.
4b	Class 3	Minor Collector roads - Collects from a limited number of local access roads to distribute to an Arterial or Collector Road
5a	Class 4	Local Access road - Road to access properties where people actually reside. (Rural: 3-10 houses). Or provides exclusively for one activity or function.
5b	Class 5	Minor Local Access road - Road to access limited properties where people actually reside. (Rural: less then 3 houses). Or provides exclusively for one activity or function.
5c	Class 6	Service Track - Provides access to properties.

Below are some further steps of how you can use the classification to developed a budget.

Budgeting Model-Rural Roads

Step 1. Break-up your road network into similar roads using a road classification system. Eg. Arterial, Collector, Local and Property Access.

Step 2. Summaries the lengths of each road class in a spreadsheet.

Step 3. Determine your standard costs $/km for grading and resheeting works for each different road class.

Step 4. Determine the acceptable levels of service in terms of condition intervention (Has direct relationship with frequency of grading) and % of imported gravel material maintained applied across the different road classes in the network. Starting with our experience.

Step 5. Set-up calculations

 Total grading cost = Length of Road Class x $/km (Grading Std) x   Frequency

Total resheeting cost = Length of Road Class x $/km (Resheeting) x % Renewal (4-8% normally)  

Step 6. Take model to Council and change the services levels to show the required expenditure to meet certain service levels.

Program by Class

As easy as "Higher class higher needs"

Regards,

Darren Shepherd
BE Civil RPEQ
Mobile 0402166325