Contents

  • Cover
  • Front matter
  • Preface
  • Scope, purpose and use
  • 1. Terminology, economic analysis, risk management
    • 1.1 Terminology
    • 1.2 Economic analysis
    • 1.3 Understanding risk
  • 2. Regulations, consents and approvals
    • 2.1 National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF)
    • 2.2 Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
    • 2.3 The Health and Safety at Work Act
    • 2.4 NZ Transport Agency approval for access onto state highways
    • 2.5 District council approval for access onto council roads
  • 3. Planning for roads
    • 3.1 Road classes
    • 3.2 Arterial roads
    • 3.3 Secondary roads
    • 3.4 Spur roads
    • 3.5 Establishment tracks
    • 3.6 Spatial information
    • 3.7 Initial field work
    • 3.8 Manual design method: Stepping out a roadline on a topo
    • 3.9 Running a grade line in the field
    • 3.10 Full road design
    • 3.11 Working with road survey data
    • 3.12 Geometric road design
    • 3.13 Curve widening
    • 3.14 Horizontal alignment
    • 3.15 Vertical alignment
    • 3.16 Calculating the safe stopping distance
    • 3.17 Setting out the roadline
  • 4. Planning for landings
    • 4.1 Common landing layouts
    • 4.2 Landing planning considerations
  • 5. Road and landing construction
    • 5.1 Soil and rock properties
    • 5.2 Managing adverse environmental effects
    • 5.3 Marking clearing widths
    • 5.4 Roadline salvage
    • 5.5 Daylighting
    • 5.6 Road formation
    • 5.7 Drainage control during earthwork construction
    • 5.8 Earthwork machinery
    • 5.9 Estimating machinery production
    • 5.10 Stabilising cut and fill slopes during construction
  • 6. Pavement design, subgrade preparation, pavement construction
    • 6.1 Traffic loading
    • 6.2 Evaluating subgrade properties
    • 6.3 Determining pavement depth
    • 6.4 Pavement material properties
    • 6.5 Compaction of subgrade and pavement
    • 6.6 Compaction equipment
    • 6.7 Pavement construction
    • 6.8 Weak subgrades
    • 6.9 Chemical stabilisation of pavement or subgrade
  • 7. Erosion, sediment and slash control structures
    • 7.1 Ditches
    • 7.2 Cut-outs
    • 7.3 Berms
    • 7.4 Drainage culverts
    • 7.5 Flumes
    • 7.6 Sediment traps and soak holes
    • 7.7 Silt fences
    • 7.8 Sediment retention ponds
    • 7.9 Debris traps
  • 8. River crossings
    • 8.1 Fish passage
    • 8.2 Selecting the location and crossing type
    • 8.3 Fords
    • 8.4 Temporary river crossings
    • 8.5 Single culvert river crossings
    • 8.6 Battery culvert river crossings
    • 8.7 Drift deck river crossings
    • 8.8 Single span bridge river crossings
    • 8.9 Prediction of flood flows, and sizing culverts
  • 9. Road maintenance, repairs and upgrades
    • 9.1 Maintenance programme
    • 9.2 Economic evaluation of road maintenance projects
    • 9.3 Managing maintenance requirements
    • 9.4 Commonly used maintenance machinery
    • 9.5 Road surface maintenance
    • 9.6 Road foundation maintenance
    • 9.7 Landing rehabilitation and decommissioning
    • 9.8 Roadside vegetation maintenance
    • 9.9 Erosion and sediment control structure maintenance
    • 9.10 River crossing maintenance
  • Forest road engineering terminology
  • References
  • Websites, resources, databases

NZ Forest Road Engineering Manual

  1.  ›
  2. 3. Planning for roads ›
  3. 3.1 Road classes
 

3.1 Road classes

Procedure for setting out a roadlinePlanning, designing and setting out a roadlineA key input to roadline planning is the road specification (also called the road standard); these vary with the purpose of the road. They include the required width, maximum grade and curve radius. These parameters should be clearly defined so that they are consistent with the proposed harvest plan.

Many forest companies develop their own set of road standards to suit their specific needs and conditions. Standards may need to be flexible. For example, the maximum grade may need to be exceeded for very short segments in difficult terrain to reach a critical control point like a river crossing or landing, or to meet environmental requirements.

Note that WorkSafe’s Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Forest Operations states that the maximum grade for any road used for log cartage with on-highway trucks is not to exceed 20% (or 11 degrees) at its steepest. The exception is that roads used by off-highway or other specialist vehicles may be steeper, provided:

  • They are designed to cope with the steeper gradient; and
  • The operation has a written site-specific hazard control procedure.

A commonly used set of road standards for forest roads is divided into four broad classes or categories:

  • Arterial
  • Secondary
  • Spur
  • Establishment.

Typical forest road classes

Prev page Next page
Forest Owners Association

© 2023 New Zealand Forest Owners Association

Website by RS