Forest Road Repair & Maintenance – Keep your dirt roads maintained – ATF Timberland Consulting

Forest Road Repair & Maintenance

Opens roads are vital for responible ownership & fire mitigation

Reasons for having properly maintained forest roads:

We can open your road back up and get it ready for truck/vehicle travel.

Did you know

Roads can act as a fire break and sometimes
contain fires, or slow them down? 🔥

Drone shot of a fire that was stopped by a well maintained road.

Need maintenance or repair on your timber parcel?

Minor Road Damage

Even mild rains can inflect road damage when precautions are not in place. These images show the damage that a missing water bar can cause. Water bars deflect water to the side of the road. If they are missing or damaged (from a previous storm) water, which should be deflected to the roadside, will often travel down the middle of the road causing significant erosion.

Solution: Ensure all water bars are securely in place and repair any that might fail during a storm.

Water cutting through a parcel road. Another example of a water bar not being installed after a harvest job.

Example of a culvert or water diversion device isn’t functioning or missing. Water stays in the road. Over time the chances increase that the road will be washed out.

Caused by a water bar that was not functioning. Letting water run down the road to the next lowest spot that it would get off road. Leaving ruts and possible washout.

Forest Road Brushing

Over time the forest will reclaim open spaces, and this includes roads. Loggers desire unobstructed roads for their vehicles so the tree limbs don't scratch the vehicle or snag hoses.

Solution: Use a mini-excavator with mulching head to mulch limbs and brush along the roadside. In addition, all large debris needs to be removed. In some cases, rock may be needed for mushy spots that will be problematic with loaded trucks.

A load of rock was spread near where the stream was adjacent to the road, to help keep sediment out of the stream. We also used 100 feet of silt fencing (not shown) along the road to reduce sediment as well.

CAT-310 with Mulching Head Taking a Breather

Cab View of Cleared Road

Before area was cleared of debris.

This road is in decent shape, but the sides still need to be brushed back. In addition, all the limbs hanging over the road must be completely removed.

Road with brush and logs blocking the roadway.

Before Road Brushing

After Road Brushing

Flail mower removing brush from the side of the road

Close-up of mulching head removing forest brush

Drone shot of flail mower removing a dead tree

Drone shot of flail mower cutting down brush and debris

Adequate road brushing ensures road are clear of debris thereby making travel safer (greater visibility) with less damage to vehicles.

Blocked Culverts

One of the most overlooked aspects of road maintenance is the culvert. This is because it is often out-of-site. Remember that even partially blocked culverts can quickly become fully blocked culverts in a heavy rain. This rain will then continue downhill, but not until it has created a large gouge in your road.

Solution: Periodically check the culverts and remove any obvious obstructions. Even clearing obstructions several feet ahead of the entrance can also buy additional time b/w cleanings. Your timberland roads will thank you.

Partially-Blocked-Culvert-Debris-1 — This partially blocked culvert will result water overflowing the road leading to significant road damage with heavy rains

This culvert is nearly impossible to see with all the debris. Even a mild rain can cause water to go around the culvert causing road damage.

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