Rural Roads Dust Control Through Dirt Road Stabilization

TOO MANY MILES, TOO LITTLE MONEY

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 71% of public access roads in the U.S. are in rural areas. 45% of these roads are unpaved, which presents a problem because roughly ¾ of these rural roads are not eligible for federal funding. That leaves many municipalities, townships and districts essentially on their own — with a lot of miles and a shortage of money.

Midwest has taken on this challenge, proactively and successfully.

By developing an alternative to the status quo, Midwest’s long-term approach to planning road maintenance projects opens opportunities for unpaved rural road management and improvement.

The Midwest unpaved road plan combines dust control with fines preservation and soil stabilization. Road budgets are planned and targeted for work over 3-5 years; Midwest's long term approach starts with the most important roadways that have the highest DVPs and highest annual maintenance cost; and plans are reevaluated each year to measure effectiveness and impact, while accounting for changes in priorities, budgets and strategies.

Now, it’s all about completing a project, not someone selling a product.

ORDINARY RURAL ROAD ROUTINES CAN BITE THE DUST

Township, county and rural roads dust reduction actually entails two forms of cost: the carrying costs (to operate, maintain, extend and renew roadways); and the upgrade costs (when the volume of traffic exceeds safe conveyance capacity, making upgrades a necessity).

Midwest’s Unpaved Road Portfolio Management program accounts for both needs through a comprehensive approach that preserves critical surface fines and stabilizes the road, all while controlling dust in a dramatic fashion.

Best of all — it works!

OVER 90% LESS PM10

No maintenance needed for months with traffic exposure

OVER 85% LESS PM2.5

No maintenance needed for months with traffic exposure

OVER 85% LESS airborne dust

Reduced and maintained airborne dust at above 85% control efficiency

PRESERVES AS-CONSTRUCTED road condition

Maintained the as-constructed properties and investment in new or reworked roads

DOUBLED THE LIFE of the road surface

Reduced the variability of the surface layer stiffness to +/-25% of the mean, which can double the road surface longevity

SAVED 65% in road maintenance

While eliminating water and chloride usage for the dust control and maintenance of roads by 100%

FROM UNPAVED TO IMPROVED

Midwest does it differently from the rest of the industry. We believe that unpaved road systems can be “managed” like a portfolio, so the annual costs can be shifted to a longer-term time perspective so that total road miles maintained are increased. This approach helps townships, municipalities and districts afford to care for and improve their roads, opening up entirely new opportunities to improve the lives of their communities.

The Midwest Unpaved Road Portfolio Management process addresses the need to raise “lower class” road quality in order to supply the strength required for higher traffic loads. This method also reduces the frequency of repair; enhances compaction at the road surface; and consolidates surface aggregate. This all means better roads that last longer and require less investment for maintenance, and only Midwest delivers these proven results by approaching the needs in a manner beyond the typical, ordinary approach.

In one example, Midwest improved sandy, unpaved roads to the extent that the structural performance was at a quality comparable to paved roads, yet at only 20% of the cost and with fewer traffic interruptions. This translated to the equivalent of 5 miles of Midwest’s stabilized roads for every mile of paved road, for a cost-effective and high-quality alternative to conventional paving on low- to moderate-volume roads.

A project in Alaska reduced dust by 97%, with surprisingly little float. And at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Northwestern Missouri, the Midwest program reduced dust generation by over 85% for an 11 month period, with zero grading and no need for maintenance. In fact, Midwest has a special natural roads system technology that combines proprietary organic emulsions with the in-place (or in situ) roadbed soils to create a superior structure and maximize the potential road strength. This dramatically increases the useful life of the road. Because traditional paving methods are too costly, Midwest’s methodology has been shown to be more cost-effective and efficacious in strengthening the road. Furthermore, this is a true green technology and alternative to traditional asphalt.

FINES PRESERVATION IS THE KEY TO STRONGER ROADS THAT LAST LONGER

To protect and enhance your relationship with the community, you need to protect roadways and keep dust under control. Midwest works with you to co-develop a customized program designed for your needs and created to get results.

Unlike dust control based around the application and reapplication of water or other temporary palliatives, Midwest’s fines preservation program is a reliable means of dust control, with long-term effectiveness ranging from 1 to 3 years. Gravel and fines are not lost, crucial because fines are the “glue” that bind the road together and form the durable surface layer. Consequently, when unpaved roads are subjected to a comprehensive fines preservation program, roads substantially retain their “as-constructed” performance with less dust and require fewer dollars to maintain. Therefore, more road mileage can be covered for the same dollars, reducing maintenance costs over the lifecycle, while reducing road degradation.

Midwest’s customized road and surface stabilization program topically applies patented chemicals which penetrate to bind the fines contained in the surface and lock soil together. This provides a reliable traffic surface, along with many other benefits for townships and rural communities:

INCREASED STRENGTH
of the road and its uniformity

GREATER STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY
and bearing strength of road

MAINTAINS “AS-CONSTRUCTED”
surface of an unpaved road for longer period of time at a lower operating cost

RETAIN THE FINES
in the road surface while resisting weathering and traffic wear

REDUCE PARTICULATE MATTER
and make residents happier

EXTEND INTERVALS
between gravel replacement needs

REDUCE ROAD DEGRADATION
such as rutting, raveling and washboarding

IMPROVE
safety and visibility

ELIMINATE CHLORIDES
and their corrosive and vegetation-damaging properties

DRASTICALLY LOWER
community and resident complaints and improve community relations

THE ROAD TO BETTER RURAL LIFE

Midwest collaboratively develops your program, which is customized and tested in your communities.

A product alone is not enough. The Midwest unpaved roads dust program seamlessly integrates into your operations for real world performance results. Co-developed with you to determine your best solution, your partnership with Midwest provides accurate data for predictable performance assurance and to achieve proper scale-up and overcome obstacles to success.

Midwest offers the only customized and dynamically managed unpaved roads dust program. Anyone can sell you a product, but Midwest’s full solution combines the science of advanced product chemistry for dust control in a dynamic traffic environment with expert application, supported by ongoing service and testing.

It enables heavy vehicle traffic utilization without road quality deterioration; reduces airborne dust to desired control efficiency levels for safety, health and community stewardship; increases road surface strength to prevent surface quality issues even at steep grades; all with no road discoloration or smell and no water quality risk or issues.

Here’s how Midwest’s Unpaved Road Portfolio Management works, with these sequential parts of the process:

1. DISCOVER

Understanding and documenting the number of miles, by type; total budget for dust control and road maintenance; all costs related to road systems; capital expenditure plans for equipment; history of expense and actual work completed; availability of information about roads in system; and more.

2. DIAGNOSE

Analyzing and cataloging the improved road system by type, average daily passes and vehicle types, condition of each road segment, structural needs and upgrade requirement and more.

3. DESIGN

Establish 1-, 3- and 5-year needs; understanding limitations; modeling outcomes; and more. Reviewing the options available based on the prior steps and bringing together those process steps with their associated alternatives such as dust control options; low-, medium- and high-end options; fines preservation options (including where and when to use this concept); stabilization options (also including where and when to use these concepts); all to maximize each option in order to maximize the budget and optimize the outcome.

4. DELIVER

Establishing KPIs to measure the 3-5 year impact to the township system, including measures such as budget dollars invested; results quantified and qualified (videos, photos, dust monitor); cost/mile; miles treated per year; miles retreated per year; and total miles in portfolio.

WANT STRONGER ROADS WITH LESS DUST? FILL OUT THE FORM TO BEGIN THE PROCESS

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TOWNSHIP ROADS NEED LONG-TERM PROGRAMS, NOT SHORT-TERM PRODUCTS