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Dumont entrance road updates


dunefreak
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I'm with you Steve. All that grading does is scrape off all the filler that Larry Blaine had put down a few years ago. I'm not a heavy equipment operator but it seems to me that if the loose gravel was pulled from the center of the road to side could be pulled to the road bed and spread over the road it would be smoother. The drag doesn't need to be that heavy either.

Other suggestions???

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I'm a heavy equipment operator who has graded for many years. I try to avoid discussing the road as the condition and grading techniques drive me nuts. But what the heck, here goes.

First, I would regrade with proper crowning and ditches, next I would have the road sprayed with lignosulfonate.

Lignosulfonate is essentially tree sap suspended in a salt water solution so it can be sprayed. With the road material "roughed up" using button bits, the solution is applied,finish graded, then rolled before it dries.The salt water evaporates leaving behind dried tree sap. After it dries it becomes almost as hard as asphalt and is insoluble. The tree sap sticks the particles of dirt together holding the road shape, stopping the road from wahboarding and holding the dust down to below PM10 standards. That means very little or no dust

.

PM 10 standards:http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/aqtrnd95/pm10.html

The cost is low because it uses a waste product, and we would be happy with no washboards or dust.

This is what it looks like being applied. It smells like bbq sauce!

2z5st5g.jpg

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I'm a heavy equipment operator who has graded for many years. I try to avoid discussing the road as the condition and grading techniques drive me nuts. But what the heck, here goes.

First, I would regrade with proper crowning and ditches, next I would have the road sprayed with lignosulfonate.

Lignosulfonate is essentially tree sap suspended in a salt water solution so it can be sprayed. With the road material "roughed up" using button bits, the solution is applied,finish graded, then rolled before it dries.The salt water evaporates leaving behind dried tree sap. After it dries it becomes almost as hard as asphalt and is insoluble. The tree sap sticks the particles of dirt together holding the road shape, stopping the road from wahboarding and holding the dust down to below PM10 standards. That means very little or no dust

.

PM 10 standards:http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/aqtrnd95/pm10.html

The cost is low because it uses a waste product, and we would be happy with no washboards or dust.

This is what it looks like being applied. It smells like bbq sauce!

2z5st5g.jpg

I like like bbq sauce! I say your hired!! :thumb: Get er done and send the bill to Ynot..

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Yes I too have operated a grader for years and the main thing that needs to be done is have a good operator go in and cut ditches with water drains in the low spots and pull all the gravel into the center of the road then lay it out and keep it out of the fresh ditches. The right operator can separate the gravel from the sand. Most operators these days just run up and down the road and don't make a crown and cant lay gravel the way it needs to be laid out. Should only be a days work to turn it into something nice and maintainable. Somebody have a 140G or 140H delivered and ill do it for free.

A drag or box will just keep digging a hole and pushing all the gravel out to the edges but will make it smooth. The road needs to be built up with ditches and water bars.

Edited by nwtdiesel
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Yes I too have operated a grader for years and the main thing that needs to be done is have a good operator go in and cut ditches with water drains in the low spots and pull all the gravel into the center of the road then lay it out and keep it out of the fresh ditches. The right operator can separate the gravel from the sand. Most operators these days just run up and down the road and don't make a crown and cant lay gravel the way it needs to be laid out. Should only be a days work to turn it into something nice and maintainable. Somebody have a 140G or 140H delivered and ill do it for free.

A drag or box will just keep digging a hole and pushing all the gravel out to the edges but will make it smooth. The road needs to be built up with ditches and water bars.

They're just running with the floats anyway. I can tell. Another reason to crown. (I like 3 1/2 to 4%) is is separates the lanes to drivers. When the road is just flat bladed, people tend to drive in the middle of the road both directions. Just human nature. When there is a clear divider (crown) people tend to drive on their own side. That halfs the wheel impact on the road and it lasts twice as long.

And yes, way to many fines on the road.

I'm hooked on the new joystick controlled graders. Never thought I'd like them, but after getting used to it, will never go back.

I wonder if BLM can be swayed with the tree sap. It would last for a couple years, and the next applications are cheaper and easier as it builds up.

The finished product is similar to what oil used to do before the EPA stopped the practice.

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The GOV hates competition!

And common sense logic only travels so far up the chain of command. Spend a little money now to save a lot of money later isn't a phrase that goes to far in the federal gov't!

There has been many great idea's about the road. But in the end, you just have to come to terms that you are going to a remote desert location for your personal recreation on gov't owned property. Dumont is pretty damn low on the broader spectrum of gov't spending, therefore, don't expect anything to be done about the condition of the road. And I can tell you right now, the only reason why that road exists, is for the BLM and LEO's! So they can access the area as easily as possible. Kind of like our national highway/freeway system was built for military use. Hence that reason that the road gets graded before holiday weekends when they are out there.

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  • 1 year later...

:bump:

Just a reminder...

A rating: smooth, little to no washboard, recently graded, able to do the 25 mph speed limit without rattling your rig to death
B rating: slight washboard in some areas, able to do 15-25 mph but having to slow down for some rough areas
C rating: rough and washboarded most or all of the way, but no potholes, less than 15 mph
D rating: potholes, bad washboard, less than 10 mph
F rating: crap, need we say more? ok fine...huge potholes, washboard, even full of whoops at times, you know how bad it can get

UPDATE: A rating. The entrance road as of Sunday was already graded and very smooth. You can easily do the speed limit without losing your fillings.

post-3-0-38823200-1414555275_thumb.jpg
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  • 2 weeks later...

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