Modeling the Impact of Energy Traffic on Local Unpaved Roads

作者：Stroud Nathan K; Ksaibati Khaled^*; Shinstine Debbie S

来源：Transportation Research Record, 2015, 2474(2474): 157-165.

DOI：10.3141/2474-19

Laramie County, Wyoming, was selected in accordance with legislative directive as part of a project to determine the impact of the oil and gas industry on county roads. This paper takes into account the impact on gravel roads. Lacking a road and bridge budget, Laramie County is only just keeping up with this impact. To receive additional funding from the state legislature, actual impact needs to be assessed. The different distresses and ride qualities of all the county gravel roads showed that, on average, the roads were in good condition, no matter the level of impact. However, keeping the affected roads in this condition has been costly. The characteristics of the gravel roads in Laramie County were modeled to gain a better understanding of the degradation taking place and to examine the main causes. This effort was undertaken in the hope that the information from the model would be used for more efficient maintenance strategies and would promote a more cost-effective use of the county's budget, so that the county might continue to keep up with the energy impact. The process developed in this study is expected to be useful for other local agencies affected by energy development.

• 出版日期2015