2011: ACA road repairs, report

(click on pics to enlarge)

Not sure where the summer went, but I am remiss I didn't post this in June as I originally had wanted.  2011 marks a bit of a 'first' for Apple Creek Acres in terms of our most important asset:  our roads.  Thanks to rather incredibly tireless work by Chris Martin before he hit the long road this summer (along with ACA president John Stoeckel), the beginnings of a true long-term "road plan" have been put in place.

We'd all agree that between patching bad spots in the road and keeping roads as passable as possible in wintry weather, that's where the bulk of our homeowner's fees goes.  We can never complete nearly the amount of work that needs to be done, so a bit of triage is in order as the list of top problem areas is addressed each paving season (the local asphalt plant closes in November and reopens in the spring).

The change for this year is that hours were spent with the heads of the two major paving/road repair businesses in this area, going over every road and analyzing trouble spots, as  well as 'the next' trouble spots to be on the lookout for.  For the first time there is a road plan of where we go with the Apple Creek roads in the years ahead...and it is a formidable task and list.

I'll start with a before-after picture of the washing-out road bed at the bottom of  ACA, the spot where for a couple of months we drove past an orange cone and yellow tape.  A temporary patch of the collapsing road and a water-diversion barrier have firmed things up for now, but the whole culvert under the road bed has corroded and will need to be replaced.  That repair will seriously affect our ability to get in/out of ACA given our single egress/ingress.

 

The number one goal is for water to get off the road and into appropriate ditches, waterways.  Canopy cover is heavy and while it needs to be greatly cleared, that's pretty far down the list.  Winter is where the shading can be especially problematic.  But perhaps of bigger concern is how road repairs were made in prior years, half-paving sides of roads and destroying the all-important 'crown' of a properly built road.  Case in point the steep stretch between the lower "big hedge" and the "blue roof" house, the snow plow can only get to the higher road surface on the right (heading uphill)...making for a thicker snow/ice pack on the other side that is a real bugger for all but the heartiest of AWD/4WD vehicles.

The split-surfaces (like the one above) can only be corrected with future paving projects, of course, and that all boils down to moneys on-hand.  Other road-based water issues deal with prior repairs of BST, throughout the length of Apple Creek Road, where repairs didn't fully 'take' on the underlying surface, and excess gravel came up, leaving behind rough ridges running parallel to the road.

In 2011, Chris or John was with the paving/repair crews every time right areas and in the right manner.  The problem with repairs made from 2010 and earlier was that there wasn't such a hands-on approach, and communications with the paving company and ACA were incomplete and not in a timely enough fashion when problems arose.  So we've got some bad spots, for sure that will have to be corrected and made 'good'.

Which brings up a major point in our road plan:  do we stick with the far-cheaper BST repairs (more gravel, less asphalt), or spring for the typical smooth asphalt surface which is almost twice the price?  Continuing to mix the two is not in the best interest for the 'best' road possible for ACA, but given the bad economy and tight pockets, we've opted for the BST repairs out of necessity, to get more projects done.  Something we all need to think about as we will be affected by homeowner's fees...work needs to be done, but it's all dependent upon what we can afford.

 

The above paired pic set is one of the several areas where asphalt berms were added to divert eroding water paths that were damaging other properties.  That's only one part of the equation, as there are many roadside ditches that need to be cleaned out to more effectively carry water coming down the roads.  Where proper crowns are lacking in sections of the road, water doesn't readily get into the ditches, hence the berms where ditching is not possible.

 

We have several small intermittent creeks, waterways that continually have plagued road-water issues, and most have been cleared or improved to take water where it should; such places need to be continually monitored as they are prone to fill in with silt and debris.

As an aside, earlier this summer we had periods of excessive, heavy rainfall from storms that created erosion nightmares...under such heavy rates of rainfall, even the best kept roads and ditches can't quite handle the flow, and those heavy rains caused many headaches.  We can't stop such events, but we can make changes to better handle such times, knowing we can't stop all the water problems.

The unanimous vote from the two pavers is that Staymon Road is probably our biggest bugger to deal with, as it is prone to excessive erosion.  There are issues of a steep grade, ditches that need to be cleared, a too-small culvert under the lower curve, and a bed angle not conducive for water getting off the road.  A short piece of asphalt was put on the lower curve to stop the severe road bed erosion which has worked; the road was re-graded and in the best shape ever...until some of those heavy rains revealed other run-off issues.

And while I'm on the subject of Staymon since I live on it, the road has stayed in good shape until the past few weeks.  New renters are now in the first two properties on the right of the road up top, and signs of excessive speed are everywhere with thrown gravel and 'divoting' of the road.  Those issues are currently being addressed.  When one speeds on gravel, lighter vehicles start to bounce and dig out bigger dips when the wheels hit down, plain and simple.  It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: speeding on any road in Apple Creek Acres is not appropriate or safe,

 

Occasionally there are 'road heaves', the repair of which goes beyond taking up broken asphalt and patching.  Sometimes the bed under the heave has flaws and needs to be taken out and repacked, and the pics below are one such repair near Staymon.  If you ignore road bed issues and simply patch a bad spot, you will have exactly what we have on Mauney Cove Road between Hall Top and Apple Creek.  It is a horrible strectch of inept road repairs that constantly create more and more repair problems.

 

There is much more to the issue of Apple Creek roads, but I wanted to give you an overview of what changes are afoot.  All great journeys begin with a first step, and that's where we are as we develop a comprehensive road plan for, uh....down the road.

Bob