Managing Road Maintenance Efficiently
and Economically
(Doing it Right the First Time)
2015 SDATAT Annual Road Conference
Mr. Ken Skorseth
SDLTAP Special Projects Manager
Managing Maintenance on the
Road System
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Know your road system
Know your budget
Assess maintenance needs
Develop a basic maintenance plan to fit
the budget
• Set priorities
• Know your road system
– Sounds simple?
– Too many supervisors can’t quickly define
how many miles are on the twp system.
• Know your road classes:
– Full maintenance
– Minimum maintenance
– No maintenance
– Closed, but remains a public R-O-W
Several ways to keep track of system
Simple map
from a free
atlas –
This is OK!
Roads marked are vacated or closed:
Minimum/no maintenance roads added:
Complete system with full maintenance added:
Excellent electronic maps available today:
Source: SDDOT
Web Map Link
• Know your budget
– Can’t be determined to the penny each
year, but make the best estimate possible
• Calculate how much planned
maintenance the budget will support:
– Blade maintenance
– New gravel
– Culvert replacement
– Signs
– Snow plowing, emergency reserve, other?
• Assess maintenance needs
21 miles full maint.
5 miles minimum maint.
• Develop a basic maintenance plan to fit the
budget
1. Blade maintenance – $40 to $50 per mile per
cycle. (Six to eight cycles per year?)
2. New gravel: ______ tons at unit cost of $8 to $15
per ton hauled and spread on the road.
3. Replace ______ culverts each year. (Cost varies
greatly related to length and diameter of pipe)
4. Repair/replace _______ traffic signs each year.
($95 ea. – recent estimate for 30 in. reflective sign
and 10 ft. square tube post)
5. Ditch cleaning, pipe cleaning, mowing, snow
plowing, etc.?
• Set Priorities
– There will never be enough funding to cover
every need.
– Figure out which routes have the most
critical need related to:
• Traffic volume
• Level of service, i.e., serves residents, mail
routes, school routes, commercial access or?
• Proposed new development – A feedlot?
Dairy? Large grain storage facility? Other?
• Estimate total costs:
– Example cost calculation for blade
maintenance:
1) Assuming the average cost of blading is $45
per mile per cycle and
2) Eight cycles of maintenance is needed in an
average year to keep a low volume in
acceptable condition,
3) Total cost is $ 360 per mile annually.
• Example cost calculation for gravel:
1) It takes 1,026 tons of gravel to replace a
two inch compacted layer 18 ft. wide on one
mile of gravel road, so
2) At a unit cost of $10 per ton placed on the
road, the cost per mile is $10,260 per mile.
• Example cost calculation for replacing
culverts:
1) Remove and replace a 24 inch culvert $1,700
2) Remove and replace a 48 inch culvert $5,000
Source: Cost estimates obtained and used before
legislative committees last year.
How far will the budget stretch?
• Assumption: 21 miles of full maintenance
roads:
1. Eight cycles of blade maint @$45 x 21:
2. Replace four 24 inch culverts @$1700:
3. Replace 10 traffic signs:
4. Replace two inches of gravel layer on
three miles @$10,026:
5. Other – ditch cleaning, snow plowing:
Total
$ 7,560.00
$ 6,800.00
$ 950.00
$30,078.00
$ 2,500.00
$47,888.00
But annual budget is only ±$28,000!
Some Advice on Doing Things Right
Require good
shaping
techniques
from your
blading
contractors.
Excellent
drainage of
water from
the road
surface to
the ditch
This
contractor
is charging
the same
rates!
Inferior
work?
Define clearly what you expect:
Example Illustration of Roadway Cross Section
Make sure culvert installation is done right:
Good work to clean a
ditch and install new
culvert under a gravel
road
Note culvert is placed
perfectly on the flow
line of the ditch
Inspect culverts and do the maintenance
This road
could fail if
trash is not
cleared from
culvert
before the
next heavy
rain
The need for gravel – how many of your
roads look like this after rain?
Purchase the best
gravel you can find
Great contrast in
surface condition
due to quality of
surface gravel
Good gravel stays in place, lasts longer, and is
the cheapest material in the long run
SDDOT Standard Gradation and Plasticity Requirements
for Aggregate Base Course and Gravel Surfacing – Don’t be
afraid to ask for material that meets a state specification.
An added challenge: try to stay on top of
pending agribusiness development
Served by the same road:
Existing road condition
Same access, different location
The county road didn’t hold up too well either
Summary of Good Management
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Really know your road system
Know your annual budget as close as possible
Have a maintenance management plan
Prioritize!
Demand quality work and materials
Try to anticipate future development.
THANK YOU