Roads and driveways are important features in the rural landscape, but the often don’t get the attention given to suburban and urban roadways. For many living in country settings, road and driveway maintenance is solely the responsibility of those who live near and use them regularly. Maintaining rural roads and driveways is a critical undertaking, so make sure to follow our tips to ensure it’s as easy as possible.
Tips for Maintaining Rural Roadways
Rural roads, driveways, and access roads are a necessary part of rural life and many in the agricultural industry rely on them daily to be able to complete chores. Keeping these roadways in good working order is a necessity. Staying on top of maintenance will head off problems in the future. Make sure to
- Keep water off the road. Water is the leading enemy of any rural roadway. Make sure your roadway is efficient at draining water by utilizing the correct roadway structure. Your road should have a crown—where the road surface is rounded so that water drains off to the sides—and shoulders that divert water into a ditch. Utilize culverts in ditches as needed so that the water can be collected and directed away from the roadway.
- Have a firm foundation. Any road is only as good as its foundation, so make sure your rural road or driveway has a solid, stable foundation that stays put. Aggregate like crushed limestone is a good choice, but always research the best options for your soil and location.
- Build up soil to create density. A roadway should be compact, and that is best achieved by adding soils made up of particles of different sizes. Use compacting equipment to get the road as dense as possible.
- Use high-grade materials. Use the best materials that you can for the best results.
- Consider your climate. Take your area’s usual weather patterns into account. For example, those in Florida will want bigger ditches and sturdier culverts to handle all of the water during the state’s rainy season.
- Keep traffic load and volume in mind. Build your road to handle the largest vehicle and the heaviest amount of traffic at all times.
- Consider your options. Not all roads need to be paved as there are other options—such as bonding agents—for controlling the most common issues with rural roads, like dust. Only pave roads that are well-built. Similarly, geotextile fabric can be installed under the road’s base to stabilize areas of the road with high traffic or that are constantly wet.
- Perform regular maintenance. Don’t put off regular maintenance on rural roadways. Take care of small issues so that they don’t become larger, more expensive issues.
Tucker Paving is a paving construction company with over 25 years of experience in the asphalt and concrete paving industry! Contact us online, or call us at (863) 299-2262 for assistance with your next asphalt paving project.
