Cost Comparison of Treatments Used to Maintain or Upgrade Aggregate Roads

This paper describes an investigation that will give Minnesota counties, cities, and townships information to make informed decisions on when it may be economically advantageous to upgrade and pave aggregate roads. The investigation will also provide resources for local governments to explain to the public why certain maintenance or construction techniques and policy decisions are made. The research effort is based on the spending used to maintain low-volume roads found in the annual reports of certain counties in Minnesota. The reviewed activities include maintenance grading, regraveling, dust control/stabilization, reconstruction/regrading, paving, and associated maintenance activities. The expected end product is a set of relationships that can be modified to address local conditions, which will include a cumulative maintenance cost per mile. These relationships are expected to show how the maintenance costs of aggregate roads, lightly surfaced roads, and hot-mix asphalt roads vary with the traffic, age, and type of surface. This relationship will also be used as a tool to assist in decisions about whether or not to upgrade an aggregate road to a bound surface. Key words: gravel roads—low-volume road