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INSTRUCTOR: James W. Ellison, P.E.

Sponsored by ASCE's Transportation and Development Institute and ASCE Continuing Education.

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Purpose and Background

The design, maintenance, and operation of low volume rural roads poses a challenge to many local highway agencies, particularly when considering the financial constraints involved in also needing to address the more heavily traveled roadways within the same jurisdiction. It is estimated that there are 2.5 million miles of low volume public roads in the U.S., under the responsibility of counties, townships, tribal lands, the U.S. Forest Service and others.

When addressing low volume road issues, it is often economically impractical to apply the same design or operations treatments that would otherwise be suggested on a high volume road, particularly when most motorists on these roads tend to be familiar with the roadway and its geometrics. For this reason, organizations such as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the U.S. Forest Service have developed policies and guidelines that recognize the need for more flexible design standards and operational practices for low volume roads.

This webinar will provide an overview of the various design policies and guidelines that can be considered for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance and operation of low volume roads. As a part of this discussion, the differing traffic volume thresholds used when applying these guidelines will be described, as well as the influence of constraints that involve right-of-way, topography, and environmental issues. Maintenance and operations issues concerning paved versus unpaved roads, and use of traffic signing and other traffic control devices will be included.

Key management issues to be considered when developing policies for low volume roads will also be discussed. Low volume road safety concerns and potential low cost counter-measures will be covered, particularly in light of the difficulty involved in statistically assessing sparse crash data.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe the two definitions commonly used to identify a Low Volume Road.
• Name the two primary sources for design guidelines used for Low Volume Roads.
• Successfully describe key management issues that local policies should consider for the construction and maintenance of Low Volume Roads.
• Identify at least five low cost crash countermeasures that can be considered for Low Volume Road safety issues.

Webinar Benefits

• Become familiar with the unique design and operation considerations of low volume roads
• Learn about design guidelines and practices for low volume roads
• Be aware of maintenance and resurfacing issues, paved vs. unpaved roads
• Become knowledgeable about MUTCD Part 5 for traffic signing on low volume roads
• Learn about the key management issues for low volume roads
• Become familiar with traffic safety issues for low volume roads
• Learn about potential low cost roadway safety countermeasures

Intended Audience

This webinar will benefit engineers and technicians who are involved in the design, review, or operations of streets and highways. This would include consultants responsible for the design of new or reconstructed roadways, or for the study of safety operations of existing roadways, as well as state highway, county road and forest service personnel and others having responsibility for the design, maintenance and operation of low volume rural roads.

Webinar Outline

• Low volume road definitions
• The need for different design policies
• AASHTO design guidelines
• Forest service design practices
• Traffic control devices for low volume roads (MUTCD)
• Paved vs. unpaved roads
• Key management issues for low volume road policies
• Low volume road safety issues
• Potential low cost safety countermeasures

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