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FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK
PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION (REGION 6)
PORTLAND, OREGON
FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
R6 Supplement No.: 7709.58-2003-1
Effective Date: December 18, 2003
Duration: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
Approved: MIKE ASH
For the Regional Forester
Date Approved: 12/12/2003
Posting Instructions: Supplements are numbered consecutively by Handbook number and
calendar year. Post by document; remove the entire document and replace it with this
supplement. Retain this transmittal as the first page(s) of this document. The last supplement to
this Handbook was R6 FSH 7709.58-97-1 to Chapter 10.
New Document
R6 7709.58, 10
9 Pages
Superseded Document(s)
by Issuance Number and
Effective Date
R6 7709.58, 10
R6 7709.58-97-1 issued 12/19/97
9 Pages
Digest:.
10 – Updates the existing supplement to conform with the new timber sale contract.
R6 SUPPLEMENT FSH-7709.58-2003-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2003
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
12 - ROAD MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
12.4 - Maintenance Activities and Maintenance Standards.
12.42 - Maintenance Standards.
The Specifications and Intent and Use Guide for road maintenance contracting is located on the
Engineering website.
The standard specifications may be tailored to meet particular project needs by use of special
project specifications approved by the Forest Engineer. An information copy should be
submitted to the Regional Office. The special project specifications (SPS) are numbered to
identify the section, subsection, and chronological order (811.011). For forest SPS, use the letter
"F" in place of the third number to the right of the decimal (811.01F).
13 - MAINTENANCE SHARING.
13.2 - Sharing Requirements.
13.21 - Timber Sale Contracts.
The Specifications and Intent and Use Guide for use in Timber Sale Contracts is located on the
Engineering website.
13.4 - Commensurate Sharing.
Forest commercial users and nonforest commercial users are financially responsible for road
maintenance commensurate with their use. See Exhibit 01 for summary of commensurate share
policy.
This policy has been developed to guide determination of commensurate shares. It allows
flexibility in the area of traffic-generated maintenance so each forest can be responsive to its
situations.
The intent of this policy is fairness to all users and that it be reasonable to implement and
administer. This places emphasis on equity to all users rather than accountability on individual
road segments.
13.41 – Responsibility and Associated Costs.
3. Maintenance of Roads for Joint Commercial and Recreation Use. These are the roads
the Forest Service plans to maintain for mixed commercial and recreation use. Because of the
planned mixed use, there is sharing.
R6 SUPPLEMENT FSH-7709.58-2003-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2003
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
a. Nontraffic-Generated (NTG) Maintenance. The basic concept of sharing nontrafficgenerated maintenance is that all users share in the responsibility of maintaining the road.
All road users benefit equally; therefore, all users share in the NTG maintenance cost,
based on the percentage of traffic attributable to their use.
The Recreation Use Period (RUP) is the time period the Forest Service determines there
is enough recreation and public use that the road must be maintained for that type of
traffic. Work necessary for safe use during this time will be shared. Work necessary to
provide for commercial use outside of the RUP will not be shared except when such work
would have been performed during the RUP. It is not the intent of this policy to shift
normal maintenance to the commercial user by making them perform maintenance at no
cost to the Government outside of the RUP.
b. Traffic-Generated (TG) Maintenance. The basic concept of sharing traffic-generated
maintenance is that each user is responsible for maintenance necessary for, and caused
by, their use. Generally, commercial users will be responsible for all surface
maintenance of the pavement structure during their use on paved roads. On
aggregate/native-surfaced roads, the commercial user will be responsible for all trafficgenerated maintenance except the additional share directly attributable to public use.
Dust abatement is normally not shared by the Forest Service unless maintenance
standards and recreation use require dust abatement without commercial use. Forests will
determine, and document methods for determining, shares of TG maintenance in a
directive supplement. Generally the Forest Service share of traffic-generated
maintenance will not exceed the Forest Service share of nontraffic-generated
maintenance.
c. Limited-Use Maintenance. This type of maintenance is limited to use on roads
managed to accept or encourage high-clearance vehicle use during commercial use. This
use is acceptable because of the low traffic volume, slow speed, and sufficient turnouts
for safety for both user groups. Commercial users are required to maintain the road to
meet Maintenance Level II as a minimum.
The basic concept of sharing is that the commercial user is responsible for all
maintenance while the road is being used for commercial haul and that the Forest Service
will not share except when slides must be removed by end haul. Each share will be based
on the percentage of traffic attributable to each user.
Cost for additional work to make these roads suitable for commercial haul is the
purchaser's responsibility and will not be shared.
4. Maintenance of Other Roads. These are the roads on which an insignificant amount of
recreation use occurs during commercial use. Restrictive signs or traffic devices as designated in
B(T)6.33 are used during active sale operations.
R6 SUPPLEMENT FSH-7709.58-2003-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2003
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
Here the basic concept of sharing is that the commercial users are responsible for all trafficgenerated and nontraffic-generated maintenance during their use. This includes all prehaul work,
routine maintenance, and seasonal or posthaul maintenance.
Prehaul work must be accomplished prior to commercial hauling to make a road suitable and
safe for commercial use as well as any other anticipated traffic, such as recreation use. Prehaul
maintenance includes such activities as surface blading, ditch and drainage maintenance, slide
and slough removal, brush removal, and road opening. It does not include reconstruction work.
Posthaul maintenance is work on roads that is necessary to protect resources following
commercial hauling. Posthaul maintenance may consist of installation of waterbars, seeding and
fertilizing, reshaping the road template to drain, treating the entrance for high clearance passage,
or blocking the road.
Purchasers may be authorized to discourage or exclude the general public from these roads
during active sale operations pursuant to provision B(T)6.33. The impact of Forest Service
administrative traffic and other minor amounts of traffic after maintenance begins is not
considered enough to create additional maintenance work and costs.
After completion of commercial user's preventive maintenance, the Forest Service is financially
responsible for basic custodial care and will keep roads stable, drainage functional, and damage
to adjacent land and resources at an acceptable level during nonuse periods.
5. Road Damage and Extraordinary Repairs. Commercial road users are responsible for
repairing road damage caused by their operations or by their failure to perform proper or timely
maintenance. The Forest Service is responsible to repair damage caused by noncommercial use,
provided the commercial user has complied with contract or permit requirements for placement
and operation of traffic control devices.
Extraordinary repairs involve physical blockage or loss of the roadbed or its structures, damage
that cannot be corrected by routine maintenance equipment (such as end loaders, graders,
backhoes, and dump trucks) operating from the level of the roadbed. This is work that is outside
the scope of maintenance specifications or that requires additional engineering drawings or
design. To this, forests may add further definitions that fit their particular situations.
Extraordinary repairs will generally be handled as reconstruction.
6. Performance of Road Maintenance. Mandatory deposits should be for commercial
users sharing in the maintenance of asphalt-surfaced roads, bridges, cattleguards, and related
structures. Forest Supervisors may require commercial users either to perform their share of all
other maintenance or to make deposits of funds with the Forest Service sufficient to provide for
their share.
Appropriate methods for accomplishing nontraffic-generated maintenance work on roads
managed for joint public and commercial use are:
R6 SUPPLEMENT FSH-7709.58-2003-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2003
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
a. Collection of deposits for the commercial user's share;
b. Sharing by each user through performance of identified maintenance activities;
c. Sharing by each user performing the total maintenance job on individual roads or
segments of roads;
d. Combination of these.
7. Snow Removal. Snow removal, whether performed by the commercial user or by the
Forest Service, shall be in accordance with conditions set forth under a cooperative agreement in
the contract or permit.
8. Road Surface Replacement (RSR) Program.
a. Two RSR financing programs are authorized for the replacement of bituminous, cinder,
or gravel surface courses on existing roads. Forest Supervisors may apply only one of the
following programs to any specific road segment:
(1) Replacement by Project Program. These road surfaces are replaced by reconstruction
or commercial user-performed maintenance. This program is authorized for roads where
there is a single user or where work can be accomplished without conflict between users.
Long-term road management objectives normally predict single-sale occupancy of these
roads; however, there may be times when two commercial users are operating during a
commercial use cycle. Commercial users shall share costs of upkeep by performance of
work.
The preferred method of accomplishing surface replacement for nonforest commercial use
on these roads is to include it as a performance requirement in the permit. The Forest
Service may eliminate this requirement when the amounts are minor, cannot be locally
obtained, and do not justify the moving-in costs for rock processing. In these cases, other
permit requirements for road maintenance could be increased on the haul route in an
amount equal to the deferred work.
(2) Replacement by Maintenance Deposit Program. These surfaces shall be replaced
entirely by maintenance through deposits and other jointly financed methods. This
program is used where the road management objectives require consistent service from the
existing surfacing. This program is limited to roads where the pavement structure provides
adequate strength to support current commercial haul volumes without reconstruction and
where there is sufficient surfacing for maintenance.
The roads in this program shall be limited to surfaces (asphalt, aggregate, or cinder) where
R6 SUPPLEMENT FSH-7709.58-2003-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2003
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
haul is essentially continuous. These are normally high commercial haul volume arterials
and major collectors where a significant change or break in current service or maintenance
level is not expected.
b. Once a road is included in the RSR by Maintenance Deposit Program, it shall not be
removed until all past RSR work has been completed.
Reconstruction of surfacing may be justified under one or more of the following
conditions:
(1) To increase the traffic service level.
(2) The road is adequate for existing traffic but not adequate for proposed project traffic.
(3) To improveme safety or operating efficiency.
(4) The road has been damaged by natural causes or by users.
c. In the event a road is scheduled for reconstruction, past RSR work on that road may be
completed by including appropriate RSR maintenance funds in financing the project.
(1) Identifying Roads for RSR Maintenance Deposits. Each Forest Supervisor should
identify in a forest supplement the roads that are eligible for road surface replacement by
maintenance deposits.
(2) Combining RSR Maintenance Deposits (Pooling). Surface replacement collections
should be deposited into the minimum number of accounts needed to obtain good
accountability and financial management. The pooled balance of available deposits shall
be used as soon as is practical.
(3) Deposits for maintenance of asphalt surfaces should normally be kept separate from
other deposits and may combine recurrent and deferred traveled-way maintenance into a
single rate. Maintenance deposits for asphalt surfaces may be used for patching, sealing,
leveling of local rutting or deformations, and replacing of pavement markings. Seal coats
to improve surface characteristics or prevent water infiltration may be financed with
deposits. Continuous segments of overlays and recycling of the existing pavement are to
be considered as reconstruction and not be financed by RSR deposits.
(4) Accountability on RSR Maintenance Deposit Roads. The obligation of the program is
to collect and apply sufficient maintenance funds to keep all the road surface(s) in the pool
at the proper service level.
R6 SUPPLEMENT FSH-7709.58-2003-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2003
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
13.4 - Exhibit 01
SUMMARY OF COMMENSURATE SHARE POLICY
CATEGORY OF
WORK
NontrafficGenerated (NTG)
Maintenance
MAINTENANCE ACTIVITY
Ditch & culvert maintenance
Slough & slide removal
Brushing and logging out
Preventive drainage
maintenance
Traffic-Generated
(TG) Maintenance
Traveled-way dust abatement,
spot surfacing
JOINT USE,
COMMERICAL &
RECREATION
OTHER ROADS
MAINTENANCE
LEVEL III - V
MAINTENANCE LEVEL
I - II
Share on % of traffic
attributable to
commercial use or Forest
Service use.
Forest Service has full
responsibility during
inactive commercial use
periods for Forest Service
needs; commercial user has
MAINTENANCE
full responsibility during
LEVEL III - V
active sale use, except that
Each user responsible for Forest Service repairs
damage caused by
maintenance necessary
for, and caused by, their noncommercial user.
use.
MAINTENANCE
LEVEL II
Limited-Use Roads
All except slough & slide
removal
Not shared
Not applicable
Slough & slide removal
Only slide end haul
shared
Not applicable
Asphalt Surfaces,
Bridges,
Cattleguards
All
Mandatory deposit only; Mandatory deposit only;
shared according to NTG shared as shown above.
and TG, above
Special
Snow removal
Post haul
Not shared
Not applicable
Not shared
Not shared
R6 SUPPLEMENT FSH-7709.58-2003-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2003
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
14 - EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.
1. Flood Emergency Road Maintenance
a. A Flood Emergency Road Maintenance (FERM) plan has the following emergency
objectives:
(1) Prevent loss of life and injury to the general public and Forest Service personnel.
(2) Prevent damage to soil, water, fisheries, and other forest resources.
(3) Prevent or decrease damage (through timely response) to capital improvements,
private property, roads, and other road-related improvements.
b. Each forest shall have a FERM plan in place, updated annually. The Director of
Engineering should be advised of the primary and alternate forest contact if different
than the Engineering staff person and the staff person having responsibility for road
management.
c. When dangerous or severe climatic conditions threaten the transportation system, the
Forest Supervisor shall institute emergency road maintenance actions for personnel,
equipment, and funds. The Forest Supervisor or acting is authorized to declare a
flood emergency. Send a copy of this declaration to the Director of Engineering
through the Regional Forester by the fastest available means. The declaration shall
state the conditions that generated the emergency.
d. Region 6 should place primary emphasis on handling recurring storm damage and
emergency actions under the FERM within Forest Service authorities. Forests are
expected to have the financial capability to handle emergency actions of a recurring
nature. In those cases where the forest experiences singular or cumulative
occurrences exceeding their road program and road maintenance funding capabilities,
they may receive assistance from the Regional Forester.
e. The three priorities for damage repair actions are
(1) Emergency Actions, taken to protect life and property, prevent road damage, and
gain access for equipment fighting the flood.
(2) Temporary Repairs that are authorized to provide necessary access to forest lands
for needed activities, except when repair is the responsibility of a purchaser or
other cooperator.
R6 SUPPLEMENT FSH-7709.58-2003-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 18, 2003
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
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FSH 7709.58 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAINTENANCE HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 10 – MAINTENANCE OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS
(3) Permanent Repairs to restore the damaged roadway to the standards to withstand
future damage.
f. Priority 1 work, Emergency Actions, are under the FERM process.
g. Priorities 2 and 3, temporary and permanent repairs, require project estimates.
Advance funding approval shall be required for these latter two priorities, except
when covered by forest road program funds. Those funds will have previously been
reserved from expenditure in the annual program of work until the likelihood of
seasonal damage has passed.
h. Declare a flood emergency action when it is necessary to protect the public, natural
resources, and facilities as related to the forest transportation systems. The Flood
Emergency Declaration is sent to the Regional Forester and authorizes the Forest
Supervisor to:
(1) Divert forest road program or road maintenance funds to emergency actions,
(2) Use special personnel actions to provide emergency manning,
(3) Instate procurement actions of an exigency nature for Priority 1 work. Normally,
standard contracting methods are suitable for Priority 2 and Priority 3 work.
These authorities remain in force until terminated by the Forest Supervisor.