The Code of Country Living- Access

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Your ability to get to and from your property will vary. Changing conditions and lower design level roads mean that you, your guests and emergency service vehicles will not necessarily have easy access at all times. Please consider the following:

1.1 Don't expect rural roads to be maintained at the same level ad city streets. Counties, townships and road districts have primary responsibility for road maintenance in rural areas. Some roads may be privately owned- requiring private maintenace funding. Seldom do rural roads include the amenities found in urban settings such as: wide lanes, curb and gutter, paved shoulders: and striping. And, the cost of maintaining those roads come primarily from property taxes you and your neighbors pay.

1.2 ____ County's fluctuating weather conditions can destroy roads. Spring freeze/thaw cycles leave low-grade roads subject to heavy damage and can even temporarily close some roads. Vehicle weights are often severely limited during the spring thaw period and roads can be posted for maximum weight allowances. In the summer, the hot sun can bake and soften oil and chip road surfaces, leaving them damaged by traffic and causing oil splatters on vehicles.

1.3 Small, narrow roads and bridge weight limits often restrict travel. Large construction vehicles cannot navigate in some areas. If you plan to build, it's best to check out contruction access well in advance.

1.4 Building a residence in a rural area may be more expensive and time consuming due to delivery fees and time requires for contractors and construction workers to reach your building site.

1.5 School buses generally can reach most rural homes, though long private lanes or rural subdivision settings may force school children to walk to the site of pickup.

1.6 In extreme winter weather, rural roads can become impassable. The ____ County prairie is subject to drifting snow that closes roads, causes delays and creates serious travel hazards. Depending on the degree of drifting, it could be days before roads are cleared. Freezing rain too, creates extremely dangerous travel conditions. Few rural road jurisdictions can afford salt to fight icy conditions.

1.7 Roadway flooding is not uncommon. Heavy rains in flatland areas can easily cover roads with water and debris, blocking or even destroying them. ____'s abundance of rivers, creeks, streams and waterways makes its rural areas prone to roadway flooding.

1.8 Gravel roads generate dust and dings. Some road jurisdictions treat gravel roads to suppress the dust when traffic levels reach specific volumes, but dust is still a fact of life for many rural residents. Loose gravel on these roads regularly chips vehicle paint and at times may crack a windshield. If your homesite is located along a gravel road, know that dust will invade your home and vehicles; and may disrupt outside activities.

1.9 Whatever the design of your road, don't expect that it will be improved in the foreseeable future. Check carefully with the road jurisdiction if any claim is made that a gravel road will be paved, bridges replaced, or other improvements made.

1.10 Access to and from public roads is regulated by the road jurisdiction. If plannning to build, be sure to check in advance about authorization and placement of private drives and culverts.

1.11 Response times of emergency service providers will likely be longer than in the city. Under some extreme conditions, you may find that emergency response is very slow and expensive. At best, the distances they must travel to reach you are longer than those within the city and will require more time. 9-1-1 emergency call-in service is available in ____ County.

1.12 The legal aspects of access can cause problems, especially if you gain access across property belonging to others. Get legal advice and understand the easements that may be necessary when these questions arise.

1.13 Mail delivery is generally available in all rural areas though timing may suffer in some locations.

1.14 Direct, daily newspaper delivery is not always available in rural areas, US Postal delivery of newspapers is an option but generally causes a one-day delay. Check with the newspaper of your choice before assuming you can get same-day delivery.

1.15 Standard parcel and overnight package delivery in the country may vary from city standards. Check with the carrier to find what service level can be expected.

1.16 In rural areas most railroad crossings are not lighted or gated. Please proceed cautiously when approaching a rural railroad crossing.

1.17 In rural areas many farm fields have access points from rural roads, and these access points are not always visible. Please be alert to farm machinery pulling onto or off of roadways. Roadway intersections in rural areas are not always at-grade or highly visible, so travel alertly.

1.18 Public transportation in ____ County is very limited, so traveling will most likely be done in a privately owned vehicle. Be cognizant of the road conditions and time of day, while obeying traffic laws.

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), July 06, 2001

Answers

An interesting topic. I am particularly interested in the topic of roads washing out.

I have road access to my property but have not yet created the road I want going INTO my property. The property is rather hilly, so I am concerned about the possibility of the road I create on my property possibly eroding during rainstorms.

Can anyone offer advise on how to build a road on rocky, dusty, hilly land so that it doesn't wash out?

Any advice on creating switchback roads?

-- Rick7 (rick7@postmark.net), July 06, 2001.


What is a "switchback road"?

cheers,

-- Max (Maxel@inwindsor.com), July 07, 2001.


Wow! I think I've lived on each of these roads at one point or another! Railroad crossings with no lights, washouts, freezing(on steep inclines), fallen trees, etc. I honestly would rather be isolated for a couple days(as long as there's no emergency) than live here where every cat we got dies on the road and cars go 80 mph on the fresh pavement by us while my kids are on the roadside trying to go to the neighbor's house. I remember winters growing up: walking at least a quarter of a mile uphill because our vehicles couldn't make it up the driveway. We had fun. I couldn't imagine trying to do it with groceries or carrying little ones, though. I guess it all depends on where you are in life.

-- Epona (crystalepona2000@yahoo.com), July 09, 2001.

Max, a switchback road is one with switchbacks. A switchback is a place where the road changes direction so that it goes from having the uphill on the left to having the uphill on the right, or vice versa. In other words, if you were trying to go straight up a hill, and uphill was north, but if the hill was too steep to go straight up, you'd head maybe northwesterly first, then switchback to go northeast, and them maybe change a few more times, if the hill's high enough.

Rick 7, that's a compliated question, and the answer depends on your terrain and climate. A road which would work fine where I live, in southwest Oregon, would not stand a chance in the midwest, because the rainfall intensity here is very low compared to the midwest. But here's a few basics:

Keep the road well crowned. Avoid driving down the same "track" all the time, as that will result in the water travelling straight down the road along these tracks, causing potential road failure during a heavy rain. Put in adequate cross drainage. Here, a minimum is a culvert every 500 feet or so, depending on the steepness of the road, and the geology-especially how much runoff happens in a strong rain. Put down adequate surfacing, whether it be aggregate, shale, or asphalt or concrete. Keep your cross drains cleaned out.

As far as how to create a switchback road, it's best not to put in switchbacks unless you have to. Of course, if you dont' have room to put in a road without utilizing switchbacks, then you have little choice, other than to increase the gradient of the road. It's often a trade off.

Avoid putting a switchback in a location where the natural topography is steep. A good rule of thumb is not to build a switchback when the natural slope is above 30%. Look for a knoll for the switchback, or sometimes you can use two culverts in a creek bottom to give you a gentle enough area to do a switchback.

A switchback on a steep hillside not only involves a lot of expensive excavation, but will often create an unstable cut or fill situation, which can result in a potentially dangerous or expensive failure of the road prism.

Hope that helped.

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), July 09, 2001.


Thanks JOJ.

-- Rick7 (rick7@postmark.net), July 10, 2001.


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