Andy and I were talking about routine maintenance of dirt roads vs improvements the other night, so yesterday he walked along our section of the road and took pictures of areas he wants Orlando to work on after the rainy season. Here are some examples.
Towards the bottom of the road the water runs across the road from the right to the left. We want it to end up in a ditch on the left, so that means we need to install a culvert so it doesn’t wash out the road.
Below are examples of rocks interfering with the water flowing down pathways by the side of the road. That means the water erodes the road, so hopefully Orlando can get a jackhammer to give the water a clear path.
If they can do it, that should improve the road so it needs less maintenance in the future. But dirt roads will always need maintenance because dirt is soft. When cars drive on the roads they make ruts that water flows down to cut new channels.
And this year all the rain that helped plants grow and stop flash flooding also caused steep banks to slide down, block the paths to the culverts (and sometimes bury them), and erode the roads.
The rain this year has been unusual, so the mudslides may not be so much of a problem in the future. On the whole, we’re pleased that the new vegetation and all the roadwork we did since the fire means we haven’t had problems with flash flooding so far this year. There’s a good chance we won’t have to call Orlando until the rainy season is over. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.
August 6, 2015
From what it was to to what it is, it is obvious that the steps taken so far have been of value. I hope that with the new culverts planned, you will have long term peace and convenience there. All the best.
Yes, all those culverts we had installed and ditches we had dug have helped a lot. what a relief this year was.
i wonder if one option would be to blacktop sections of it each year until it’s all been done.
i know that’s expensive. but with the money spent contantly re-doing what’s already been done… maybe it would be the best solution?
of course even black top wouldn’t help the steep sides from caving or covering the road probably. i would just hope it might be easier to clear.
probably not!
We’ll just have to see how it goes. This year was a lot easier than the last few.
Somehow the pictures never do the road justice; the ruts all look very minor.
Tried to warn the people who brought our kit cabin in 2006 by sending road pictures and they just laughed – until they got there…
We’re going up there tomorrow night, so I’ll see if the pictures did the ruts justice. I love your story. Andy laughed too when I told him.
I suppose this problem can never be successfully fixed due to the fact it’s a private road – & hence no county maintenance…
Yes. As Andy says, the county government is a tax collecting entity, not a service providing one.