Unpaving a road

[kphoger]

How common is this?

A gravel road gets paved, then a few years later it is turned back into gravel again.



Here's the example I have in mind:  53rd Street North, between Oliver and Woodlawn, in the Wichita area

2007 GSV:  gravel road
2011 GSV:  paved with a thin layer of asphalt (can't remember the term for that)
current GSV:  gravel road

[GaryV]

Chris Bessert's site https://www.michiganhighways.org/index.html mentions a state highway or two that was allowed to revert to gravel, either during the Depression or WW2. And since all Michigan's highways are paved, it was repaved at some point in time.

[Max Rockatansky]

It happened when NV 121 was relinquished in 2021.  The asphalt was removed, and a gravel surface replaced it. 

Around me and the surrounding mountains it is very common for roads to be topped with dirt or gravel when the pavement erodes badly.  Some notables around me include Sierra National Forest Route 10 where my favorite campground is.  The dirt portion has broken up asphalt underneath of which appears to have been eroded in a storm.  Similarly Mineral King Road (planned CA 276) in Sequoia National Park has eroded paved sections which were just covered with gravel.  I'd argue that both these roads (and several others) are better off with dirt or gravel given the maintenance gets deferred on a paved surface for 4-6 decades.

[flan]

I just saw this with Big Stone CSAH 1 in Minnesota. Google Maps showed satellite imagery of it being paved, but when I got to it last Sunday, it was just a really wide gravel road. I was under the impression that once a county road in Minnesota was paved, it was to be maintained as such indefinitely. It was only like a two mile stretch of road, too, so I'm curious why it was 'unpaved'.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I just saw this with Big Stone CSAH 1 in Minnesota. Google Maps showed satellite imagery of it being paved, but when I got to it last Sunday, it was just a really wide gravel road. I was under the impression that once a county road in Minnesota was paved, it was to be maintained as such indefinitely. It was only like a two mile stretch of road, too, so I'm curious why it was 'unpaved'.

Cook County did this with former US 61 on Grand Portage (now CSAH 17) a couple years ago. The pavement was original and in horrible condition, so it was just removed in the reconstruction project.

[CovalenceSTU]

The only one I can think of is Hermo Rd. in rural Columbia County, OR. It's an agricultural/industrial road that was paved for a mile (including passing zones) but was unpaved between 2005 and 2010.

[rhen_var]

A few miles of MN-74 that were previously paved were turned back into gravel road in 2021.

[JREwing78]

Chris Bessert's site https://www.michiganhighways.org/index.html mentions a state highway or two that was allowed to revert to gravel, either during the Depression or WW2. And since all Michigan's highways are paved, it was repaved at some point in time.

During the Great Recession (yeah, the one that happened under GW Bush and Obama), there were local roadways in parts of Michigan that were converted back to gravel because the local Road Commission couldn't patch them anymore, but they were too unsafe to leave as-is. So, voila, paved road becomes gravel road.

I suspect at this point those roads have subsequently been repaved, but that was pretty messed up.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

A few miles of MN-74 that were previously paved were turned back into gravel road in 2021.

I know MnDOT has designs on turning over that largely unpaved northern part of 74 headed up to the US 61 intersection where it ends, but I don't know what their intended northern terminus is nor what the timetable is for that.

[Dirt Roads]

There a case of local folklore in North Carolina whereby a governor came home from Raleigh one weekend to find the road to his farm house freshly paved.  Due to his personal concerns that the project "reeked of corruption", he demanded that the road be returned to its "unpaved" status.  The tales says that he came home on the next weekend to find his road freshly graveled, which he "accepted" (as the road hadn't been previously graveled).  For many decades, that particular road was the only one in the area left unpaved, purportedly because the late Governor "would have wanted it so".  That road did recently get paved, incorrectly reported as "for the first time ever".

[Quillz]

I think the Dalton Highway has gone back and forth on this. Some segments were paved, only for the pavement to quickly crack, so it was returned to gravel. This makes a lot of sense for that part of the world. Unpaved gravel roads, if well built and maintained, can be as smooth as pavement, yet also be a lot cheaper and last longer. Presently, only about 100 miles of the highway are paved (I think mainly through the Brooks Range where the ground is more solid), and attempts to pave more of it have generally not worked.

[bwana39]

There are times when pavement is actually REMOVED. More often, the condition of the pavement gets poor and the potholes are filled and a new layer of gravel (or even sand or clay) are put down over it and it is all smoothed out using a grader or perhaps a front-end loader.  While it would appear as a rock or dirt road, there are places where it is rock or dirt and places where a pavement of some sort or another is simply covered by dirt or rock.

In time, patches of pavement may resurface as the condition of the road deteriorates. (especially on the high centers)

[Big John]

There are times when pavement is actually REMOVED. More often, the condition of the pavement gets poor and the potholes are filled and a new layer of gravel (or even sand or clay) are put down over it and it is all smoothed out using a grader or perhaps a front-end loader.  While it would appear as a rock or dirt road, there are places where it is rock or dirt and places where a pavement of some sort or another is simply covered by dirt or rock.

In time, patches of pavement may resurface as the condition of the road deteriorates. (especially on the high centers)

Clay makes a terrible road bed.

[bwana39]

There are times when pavement is actually REMOVED. More often, the condition of the pavement gets poor and the potholes are filled and a new layer of gravel (or even sand or clay) are put down over it and it is all smoothed out using a grader or perhaps a front-end loader.  While it would appear as a rock or dirt road, there are places where it is rock or dirt and places where a pavement of some sort or another is simply covered by dirt or rock.

In time, patches of pavement may resurface as the condition of the road deteriorates. (especially on the high centers)

Clay makes a terrible road bed.

Clay by itself is a bad BED for a road. You tend to cover it with asphalt, fabric or both in a higher end construction.

. The FHWA suggests it as a low-cost part of sand /clay roads. Here are two articles. One on how to do it and another on the history.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/how.cfm

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/sandclay.cfm

[pderocco]

There are places where old roads are bypassed by more modern roads, and the old pavement is dug up, leaving a dirt road. The old US-66 north of Cajon Junction, CA has been a dirt road for decades, and is still drivable in several sections. Right nearby, CA-138 was straightened a few years ago, and parts of the old winding road are still drivable as dirt. The old CA-58 that was bypassed in Hinkley, CA has a short stretch that was de-paved, with cul-de-sacs on the ends of the paved parts, and "barriers" to indicate that you shouldn't pass, although you can easily go around them and get through. There are a couple old alignments of US-395 in the Owens Valley and beyond that look like they were intentionally de-paved decades ago, although you can still drive them.

Proctor Valley Rd is a graded road that connects Jamul, CA to the Otay Ranch area. As you approach the southern end, patches of pavement appear, and get more frequent. Then, you encounter a sign saying End of County Maintained Road, and it becomes paved again. I guess San Diego County's maintenance role on that road was to grade it regularly, which took the remnants of pavement off.

[Bitmapped]

West Virginia DOH "reclaimed" a number of country routes in Preston County where the asphalt had deteriorated to the point it was no longer able to be repaired or could readily be overlaid. https://www.wboy.com/road-patrol/wv-doh-using-reclaimer-on-preston-county-roads/ Some of the roads have since been resurfaced, but I believe some remain as gravel.

[pderocco]

I just thought of another good example. US-93 through the hills south of Hoover Dam used to take a more curvy route. That alignment is easily visible in aerial imagery, and is clearly unpaved. I have no maps that are detailed enough to indicate when that happened, though. It was probably when US-466 was also signed along that route.

[Rothman]

I just thought of another good example. US-93 through the hills south of Hoover Dam used to take a more curvy route. That alignment is easily visible in aerial imagery, and is clearly unpaved. I have no maps that are detailed enough to indicate when that happened, though. It was probably when US-466 was also signed along that route.

Isn't abandoning an alignment not the same as what is being asked for here?

[pderocco]

The OP didn't actually say that the road remained in use. But at least one part is called Old Highway 93 in Google, and looks drivable with 4wd. https://maps.app.goo.gl/DVmDEqyH54XgaEb48

[froggie]

Here's a relevant article from 2009 where several Michigan counties were (and presumably still are?) converting pothole-ridden roads back to gravel in an attempt to save maintenance costs.

Here's a literature review done by the University of Minnesota in 2006, which looked at two studies in Minnesota and South Dakota in the early '00s to gauge at what traffic level would paving a road be more cost-effective than keeping it unpaved.  The South Dakota study indicated a daily volume of 150 ADT while the Minnesota study suggests 200 ADT.  These values may be different elsewhere given regional variations in material and labor costs, not to mention inflation over the past 20 years.  But it does suggest that if traffic volumes on a given paved road fall below a certain threshold, it would be more cost-effective to remove the pavement and revert the road to gravel/dirt.

[seicer]

A few years ago, Athens County (Ohio) initiated a cost-saving program where they allowed certain low-traffic roads to gradually revert to gravel surfaces. Instead of regular asphalt maintenance, potholes on these roads were filled with gravel. Over time, this process led to the roads being covered with a fine layer of gravel after an initial treatment with oil chips. This approach significantly reduced maintenance costs for the county. Unlike asphalt roads that require frequent upkeep, the gravel roads only needed periodic grading and filling of holes.

Similarly, a lot of roads I drive on in West Virginia have evidence of being formerly asphalted.

[kphoger]

Isn't abandoning an alignment not the same as what is being asked for here?

The OP didn't actually say that the road remained in use. But at least one part is called Old Highway 93 in Google, and looks drivable with 4wd. https://maps.app.goo.gl/DVmDEqyH54XgaEb48

My OP example was a case where a road used to be gravel and was only paved for a few years before reverting to gravel again—all while still in use.  This is indeed the spirit of the thread I intended.  Not really interested in state highways that were handed down to the counties, abandoned alignments, etc, as those all seem fairly mundane to me.  But whatever:  it's not my forum.

[pderocco]

There is something interesting to me about roads where the pavement is intentionally torn up and removed, as opposed to slowly reverting through wear and tear, and yet the road remains open to traffic.

[Flint1979]

Janes Road becomes a gravel road for about a mile east of Portsmouth Road to the Buena Vista/Blumfield Township border. It's a paved road elsewhere for the rest of it's length. The gravel part of the road replaced a paved part of the road about 10 years ago.

Actually I was on a gravel road yesterday and thought to myself some of these gravel roads are better to drive on than some paved roads.