Most people are familiar with a grader going down the road
to smooth out the gravel. In the spring the
grader brings gravel from the shoulder area that was displaced from winter
plowing and smooths it out over the road.
This effort of grading continues to be accomplished periodically throughout
the summer months as needed.
As roads are graded the material is repositioned on the
roadway in a relatively loose manner. We
have relied on traffic to compact this material. If it rains before it gets
compacted it becomes a muddy mess. If it
dries out too much without compaction it creates dust. The dust eliminates some of the fine
materials leaving the material as mostly stones. A good gravel roadway needs gravel and some
clay materials to hold it together to create a smooth surface.
The city continues to look to ways to improve and manage
gravel roadways. One approach not
previously used in the past was that of using a gravel packer. A packer is a multi-tired unit that applies
pressure across the width of the roadway that was just graded. Packing the
roadway just after it has been graded firms up the surface allowing for a
smoother roadway that is expected to hold up longer. It is also hoped this will reduce grading
time in general as it shouldn’t be needed as often.
Another advantage of the packer is using it when gravel is added
to improve its base. With an inch or two
of new gravel being spread the hope has been that traffic would firm it up. This doesn’t work as well as you might think. Compaction becomes uneven and it can even create
ruts. Placing gravel with the packer
improves the operation and the final outcome.
A better finished project is the result.
The city council considered the purchase of a packer unit at
its May meeting. Under the state bid the
unit was purchased for $33,920.00. The
budget for this piece of equipment was $35,000.
The city will be using this unit as soon as it arrives so hopefully
we’re on the road to better gravel roadway surfaces.
