How to Put an Access Road on Your Property

Course Summary:

In this PDH or CE course you learn roads designed to help people enjoy the countryside and country property often destroy the beautiful scenery and clear water that make the mountains so attractive. Poorly constructed access roads often cause severe erosion, and stream sedimentation. These effects can degrade water quality for decades. Erosion can be disastrous in fragile mountain environments, and the landowner must pay for frequent and costly repair of a poorly designed road.

Ultimately, if you own the land, you are responsible for ensuring that your road is properly constructed. Building an access road in the mountains to even a single home can be complicated and expensive. Regardless of the advice received, it’s important to remember that there are no inexpensive “shortcuts” when building a road in the mountains. Admittedly, it is expensive to build a good road. But it is always less expensive to build a good road the first time than to repair a bad road every year!

How can you get the road you need? It can be achieved through careful planning, design and supervision. You are likely to be disappointed if you leave decisions in the hands of a construction contractor or bulldozer operator. Whether you do the planning yourself or hire a professional, some knowledge about planning, layout and construction of access roads is valuable.

Learning Objective:

This PDH or CE course provides the basics. For many people and situations, the information provided may be sufficient to design and build a road. For others, professional, on-site assistance may be necessary. This booklet does not address all the problems that may be encountered in road construction. You must determine the limits of your abilities but, professional assistance certainly should be sought for complex projects.
Review the quiz before studying the course.

Course Content

Course Author: Franco F. Davati, P.E.