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This project focuses on the second construction phase of the Minnesota Road Research facility (Mn/ROAD) and evaluates three typical, locally available, surfacing aggregates along with a rollover section from the initial phase for performance. The project results indicate that the adsorption test did not predict the performance of the sections in this experiment. All of the aggregates were characterized as marginal in terms of moisture and frost susceptibility. The sections with the greatest percentage of fines typically performed better than sections with a low percentage of fines. The Minnesota Department of Transportation issued a technical memorandum to change the specification from 0-15% to 8-15% passing the No. 200 sieve for Class 1 surfacing aggregate. The project also compared freezing and thawing rates on the aggregate sections to nearby hot mix asphalt (HMA) sections. Soil at any particular depth froze four to five days before HMA sections. The aggregate sections also thawed at exponential slower rates as depth increased from 11 to 35 days, which means that an aggregate surfaced road will freeze sooner and thaw slower than an HMA surfaced road. This information impacts the management of spring load restrictions and winter load limits.

This report describes a research project that provides Minnesota counties, and townships with information and procedures to make informed decisions on when it may be advantageous to upgrade and pave gravel roads. It also provides resources to assist county and township governments in explaining to the public why certain maintenance or construction techniques and policy decisions are made. The research involved three major efforts. The first is a historical cost analysis based on the spending history for low volume roads found in the annual reports of selected Minnesota counties. The effects of traffic volume and type of road surface on cost was included in the analysis. The second was the development of a method for estimating the cost of maintaining gravel roads, which is useful when requirements for labor, equipment and materials can be predicted. The third is the development of an economic analysis example that can serve as a starting point for analyses to aid in making specific decisions. Additional information was gleaned from numerous interviews with local road officials. Maintenance and upgrading activities considered included: maintenance grading, re-graveling, dust control/stabilization, reconstruction/re-grading, paving, and others. As part of this report, an analysis is developed that compares the cost of maintaining a gravel road with the cost of upgrading to a paved surface. This analysis can be modified to address local conditions. Such an analysis may be used as a tool to assist in making decisions about upgrading a gravel road to a paved surface.

Low-volume roads constructed in regions susceptible to freezing and thawing periods are often at risk of load-related damage during the spring-thaw period. The reduced support capacity during the thawing period is a result of excess melt water that becomes trapped above the underlying frozen layers. Many agencies place spring load restrictions (SLR) during the thaw period to reduce unnecessary damage to the roadways. The period of SLR set forth by the Minnesota Department of Transportation is effective for all flexible pavements; however, experience suggests that many aggregate-surfaced roads require additional time relative to flexible pavements to recover strength sufficient to carry unrestricted loads. An investigation was performed to improve local agencies' ability to evaluate the duration of SLR on aggregate-surfaced roadways. This was accomplished through seasonal measurements of in situ shear strengths, measured using the dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP), on various Minnesota county routes. In situ strength tests were conducted on selected county gravel roads over the course of three years. Strength levels recorded during the spring-thaw weakened period were compared to fully recovered periods that typically occur in late spring/summer. The results indicate that aggregate-surfaced roads generally require 1 to 3 additional weeks, over that of flexible pavements, to reach recovered bearing capacity. Additionally, a strong correlation was found between duration required to attain given strength recovery values and climatic and grading inputs.

Recycled Asphalt Shingles (RAS) include both manufacture waste scrap shingles (MWSS) and post-consumer tearoff scrap shingles (TOSS). It is estimated that Minnesota generates more than 200,000 tons of shingle waste each year. Recently, a portion of this waste has been incorporated into hot-mixed asphalt (HMA) pavement mixtures. The current technology limits the amount of RAS in HMA to no more than 5 percent by weight. This leaves a lot of underutilized shingle waste material throughout the state. This has prompted MnDOT to investigate other potential uses RAS. One potential use is to improve the performance of gravel surfacing and reduce dust by replacing common additives such as calcium chlorides with RAS. This is especially relevant as gravel sources in Minnesota have been depleted and/or have declined in quality, which has affected the performance of gravel surfacing. These poorer quality fines can increase the amount of dust generated and increase the difficulty of keeping the roadway smooth. Some agencies have used dust control additives to help the performance of these lower quality gravels. Successful implementation has the potential of removing valuable RAS materials from the waste stream to supplement the use of more expensive virgin materials and improve the performance of local roads.

Aggregate surfaced roads become coarser and coarser after a few years of service due to an inherent problem - dust emission. Fines in the surfacing material are kicked up by traffic and blown away by the wind as fugitive dust. One of the alternative rejuvenation methods is to replenish the missing fines to restore the gradation and plasticity of the in situ material. Savings in the material and cost could in return benefit the environment and financial condition of the jurisdiction. Control and experimental test sections were established in three counties of Minnesota and performance of the sections were assessed using methods including cross-section profile change surveys, gravel loss and loose aggregate measurements, gravel road condition ratings, International Roughness Index estimation, and field observations. Experimental sections in Jackson County did not perform satisfactorily. However, one of the test sections in Beltrami County performed favorably well. A five-year-cycle benefit-cost analysis revealed that a 20 percent cost savings was also achievable in that particular section. Another trial in Olmsted County tested whether modified Class 5 limestone aggregate is appropriate for gravel road surfacing.

Minnesota has a large network of aggregate roads. The majority of the system is maintained by counties and townships. Some of the aggregate roads need to be upgraded with a sealed surface for dust control or to provide a smoother driving experience, as well as for local economic development. Local road officials are often faced with the responsibility of upgrading the roads with a limited budget. Light surface treatments (LSTs) are considered an economical alternative to the conventional upgrade approaches using hot-mixasphalt (HMA) or concrete pavements. The currently used methods in Minnesota for the structural design of LSTs for aggregate roads were originally developed for structural design of flexible pavements. This research evaluated the design methods that can be used to design LSTs for aggregate roads. The methods evaluated include the MnDOT granular equivalent (GE) method and the MnDOT mechanistic-empirical method (MnPave design software), which are used in Minnesota, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) flexible pavement design method and South Dakota aggregate road design method, which are practiced in other places in the United States. The results include a discussion of the applicable situations for each method. The research team also conducted a survey that was distributed to the county engineers in Minnesota to document their experiences with LSTs. Recommendations for improving the current design methods when applied to LSTs on aggregate roads are suggested based on the survey results.

This study evaluated the performance and cost of commonly used dust palliatives using a mobile air sampling technique. Treatments of calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and organic polymer-plus-binder were evaluated at standard application rates during the first year and at variable rates during the second year. The treatments were applied to a variety of subject roads that were located throughout Minnesota. Average daily traffic levels varied from 25 to 700 vehicles per day. The overall data trend showed that treatments reduced dust levels and measurements showed that aggregate surface moisture content was the best predictor of dust control efficiency. Positive relationships were measured between dust control efficiency and other variables in the study, generally reinforcing the concept that higher application rates may be more successful on gravels containing greater amounts of material passing the #200 sieve. A negative relationship was measured between dust control efficiency and sand equivalency, showing that treatments on gravels containing more sand material were less effective. In addition to dust control, study participants observed a secondary benefit of surface stabilization, which lasted for a period of time. Treated sections that developed surface stabilization were able to reduce maintenance activities to intersection areas only.

This presentation was the final deliverable from research project 2003-39.

This flyer pertains to 2019RIC03, Gravel Road Management Spreadsheet Tool Supplemental Guidance.

On behalf of the Minnesota Local Road Research Board (LRRB); the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) at Montana State University (MSU) and the University of California Davis (UCD) developed A Guide to Successfully Convert Severely Distressed Paved Roads to Engineered Unpaved Roads. The guide serves as a comprehensive information source on effective practices for converting severely distressed paved roads to acceptable unpaved surfaces. This final report recounts the effort associated with the seven tasks involved in the completion of this project; the location of each task deliverable; and future research needs to advance this topic.