Why Aren’t You Grading My Gravel Road?
QUESTION: WHY ISN’T KCRC GRADING OUR GRAVEL ROAD? IT’S A MESS!
ANSWER: With muddy conditions and frost coming out of the ground, grading can actually worsen road conditions rather than improve them.
Here’s why. The frost coming out of the ground is coupled with large amounts of precipitation (rain and/or snow). The muddy surface that this causes gets worse with excessive traffic or heavy vehicles. That is why KCRC’s heavy grading equipment can make muddy roads even worse for travel, and putting more gravel on the road actually hinders conditions by adding another layer to the muddy surface, making it even harder for the road to dry out.
Therefore, time is the best healer. Warm temperatures and low precipitation will help the gravel roads dry out, which will then allow the graders to properly reshape the roads.
KCRC will continue to monitor its gravel roads and “spot grade” where effective. Once conditions allow, crews will increase grading efforts to reshape the roads.