There are two ways to fix potholes in paved roads: Fill them or remove the asphalt.
This week, the Forest Service is converting a pothole-riddled paved road it can’t afford to fix, into a gravel road.
Road crews are using a machine called an Asphalt Zipper to grind the surface of Forest Road 25. The road connects Highway 20 to the East Fort Rock Off Highway Vehicle trail system.
“This road condition has deteriorated to a point it’s unsafe for driving with large potholes and sloughing off the shoulders,” said Jaimie Olle, Public Affairs Specialist for the Deschutes National Forest. “Our road crew is coming out to work on a mile-long section and they are grinding up that material so it will become more of a gravel road surface.”
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Forest Road 25 was paved in the 1960s. Back then, timber sales on federal lands paid for road construction projects. But today, there’s not as much road maintenance money available so the failing old paved road is being converted to gravel.
“Once the grinding is complete, road crews will grade the road and and compress it with a roller to make a new gravel road surface. Then folks driving on it will experience what it’s like to drive on a gravel road,” said Olle
Most Forest Service gravel roads are graded annually or every other year, in the spring. This year with the late snowstorms, precipitation and cold weather, the road grading season is delayed.
“If we can’t get our equipment there, obviously we can’t start our work. They need a certain amount of moisture but not too much to properly grade roads. With this late season moisture, it’s kind of pushed back the grading season a little bit but they’ll get to roads when they are able,” said Olle
Graduating to gravel, Forest Road 25 joins the ranks of roads that will be graded each or every other year.
