Gravel Roads Issues & County Services Q&A

Yes.  Too much rock can cause traction problems, washboarding (see below), and potholes, resulting in safety issues and possible increased dust.

No.  Our motor-grader operators have established routes which cover the entire gravel or unpaved road system.  Some roads have more traffic or have unique environmental or topographical elements, which may require more frequent grading.

For property owners who live adjacent to a gravel road, dust from vehicles traveling too fast for local conditions can become a significant problem.  In no certain order, these are suggestions to mitigate or reduce the impact of dust:

1. Travelers need to be courteous and reduce their speeds when the roadbeds are dry.

2. As stated previously, in different areas of the road system the county's motor-grader operators may grade and "berm" to the side the loose and finer-sized rock in late spring.

3. With a county permit, lignin and other soil stabilizers can be commercially applied.  Please see "Lignin Application Permit" FAQ below.

Smart, targeted vegetation plantings along the road frontage can reduce drifting dust.  For example, taller arborvitae and laurel hedges are great in reducing fugitive dust.

The county has worked with private dust abatement contractors to establish a citizen dust abatement program.  In accordance with the program's web page information:

1. Several lignin or soil stabilizer contractors agree to work with the county in applying products for adjacent property owners of gravel roads.

2. The program is well described on our citizen dust abatement program website. 

3. As described, if the contracted work is completed in the designated calendar work window, the county will supply the necessary grading services at no cost to the citizen.

4. Citizens must file the online document, "Citizen Dust Abatement Application Permit & Grading Request" within the stated time period.

5. Permits must be established or renewed each year.

If permitted work is done outside the stated calendar deadlines, county grading services can still be obtained at a considerable cost to the citizen (current rates are listed at the bottom of the Citizen Dust Abatement Permit).

• As mentioned previously, we added grader roller-compactors to two of our newer motor-graders, which have prolonged the performance life of rock and improved our final product.

• In a limited program, we are beginning to apply recycled asphalt grindings to some gravel roads to reduce dust and rebuild the road beds.

• Besides using lignin products, we have started to use the newer commercial soil stabilizers with some success in environmentally sensitive or very high traffic areas.

• We are readjusting our resources to position our staff to more readily respond to rough roads during the driest season.

• We are working with many similar Northwest agencies that provide gravel road services, learning from their experiences as to what works well and what does not.

No, for several of the following reasons:

1. All work on county roads requires an approved permit.  The permitting process includes a staff review which evaluates long-term sustainability and public safety.

2. Pavements and the associated costs would need to be maintained well beyond the life of property ownership.  Eventually the county will become responsible and, as stated previously, there are not enough monies to keep the current paved miles maintained.

3. Pavements need to connect to other existing pavements.  It becomes very problematic and potentially unsafe for motorists to maintain a patchwork of paved and gravel roads.