Unpaved Road Chemical Treatment Selection Tool

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Results Interpretation Notes

  1. The unpaved road chemical treatment selection tool is based on charts of expected performance (good, fair, or poor) of each family of treatments for each objective and the influence (none, some, or significant) of each of the input parameters (fines content, plasticity index, traffic, climate and road geometry) on this expected performance. These charts were subjectively developed by a panel of unpaved road practitioners (representing the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Local Technical Assistance Programs, county government, and academia) and chemical treatment manufacturers, and are based on past experience and documented field experiments. The charts can be viewed in the UCPRC Guideline.
  2. A rating for each input parameter is shown in the respective input columns (i.e., first seven columns in the chart).
    1. A rating of 1 (green cell) implies that the input parameter has little negative influence on how the chemical treatment will perform.
    2. A rating of 2 (orange cell) implies that the input parameter could have some influence on how the chemical treatment will perform and although it does not exclude use of the treatment, the user should be aware of the potential limitation(s) and should check if it is relevant to the specific intended application.
    3. A rating of 3 (red cell) implies that the input parameter could have considerable influence on how the chemical treatment will perform. It does not exclude use of the treatment, but practitioners should carefully consider the potential implications before using the treatment in this particular application.
  3. The individual ratings are mathematically processed to give an overall rating score. Selections are ranked according to this score. Selections with equal scores are alphabetically ordered according to category and sub-category descriptors in the UCPRC Guideline and do not imply that one selection is better than another.
    1. A rating score of 1.0 (green) indicates that the chemical treatment is worth consideration and should perform satisfactorily provided that mix design results indicate good performance, that the road is prepared appropriately, and that the product is applied according to manufacturer’s instructions and road owner specifications.
    2. A rating score of between 2.0 and 2.9 (orange) indicates that one or more of the input parameters (i.e., traffic, climate, material, and/or road geometry) could have an influence on performance of the treatment and requires additional consideration of the actual project conditions before selection. Higher scores indicate more than one input parameter could influence performance of the treatment.
    3. A rating score of between 3.0 and 3.9 (red) indicates that one or more of the input parameters could have a significant negative effect on the performance of the treatment and requires serious consideration before selection. Potential implications should be discussed with product manufacturers/distributors before a decision is made. If the input parameter of concern is material related (i.e., plasticity index or fines content), mechanical stabilization (i.e., addition of fine or coarse material, or clay) can be considered to correct the problem.
    4. A rating score of NA implies the treatment is not appropriate for that objective.
  1. Check the environmental considerations for the selection, whether soil chemistry could influence performance of the treatment and needs to be checked prior to a final decision being made, and if the selected treatment can be maintained with conventional unpaved road maintenance techniques. This can be accomplished by reviewing the "Environmental Considerations and Other Influences" table
  2. Provisional specification language for procuring and applying unpaved road chemical treatments is covered in the UCPRC Guideline.