Guidelines for Upgrading Low Volume Roads in Saskatchewan

In Saskatchewan, maintenance and reconstruction of the highway system has emerged as a great challenge due to the extensive network size. The entire roadway network in Saskatchewan is over 186,000 km in length. Approximately 26,000 km of this network is included in the provincial highway system. The majority of the provincial highway system is two-lane roads, 80% of which has an Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) of 1200 vehicles per day or less. Currently, departmental design standards do not provide the flexibility necessary to make operations, safety, and cost trade-offs on these Low Volume Roads (LVR). LVRs provide access and links between the principal highway system and communities. Many of these highways were constructed 30 to 40 years ago for relatively low volumes of traffic with few heavily loaded trucks. With the shift from rail to road in commodity movement, many of these highways cannot meet the increased trucking demands. The LVR Guidelines were developed with the purpose of assisting the designer in choosing the appropriate combination of features, dimensions, and materials for upgrading low volume roads. The paper discusses the methodology used in the development of the Guidelines including a definition for low volume roads specific to Saskatchewan. The integral part of the Guidelines is the assessment process that can be used by the designer to assess the existing road and determine the appropriate improvement needed for each road segment within the project. The designer is then guided to appropriate design parameters outlined in a design domain environment.