1998 - USA - Building Forest Access Roads

This guide is designed for low volume roads, with construction limited to a tractor and ordinary earth moving equipment. Logging roads on small woodland properties are usually constructed by the logging contractor, sawmill operator, or by a road contractor.

This guide applies to low-speed forest roads with a 12-foot-wide running surface that are needed only temporarily or only during certain times of the year. Recommendations in this guide cover basic planning, construction, drainage, maintenance, and closure of such forest roads. The recommendations incorporate best management practices, which are designed to reduce nonpoint-source pollution, as can occur during road building.

This guide also covers special situations involving water that require individual consideration: streams with or without migratory fish, beaver ponds, and wetlands. Each of these situations is covered in a separate section.