00302417

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...s/trr/1979/716/716-005.pdf

https://scholar.google.co...twig&publication_year=1979

The dense grid (usually conforming to a 1-mile (1.6-km) spacing) of roads that characterizes rural counties in Michigan and elsewhere is a product of the Ordinance of 1785 which was enacted in order to open up vast tracts of undeveloped land in the western United States. Today in Michigan, with the road grid having long ago served its original purpose it is highly questionable whether such a dense county road network is suitable for the present situation, marked by a trend toward fewer and larger farms. Crossing or traveling a road with heavy equipment to go from one field to another is not uncommon. County road commissions are obliged to spend limited maintenance funds many on low-volume roads, resulting in a network of poorly maintained roads. In Clinton County, Michigan a long-range planning program to reduce the density of the county road system and return some rights-of-way to agricultural use was begun. As part of that program, a four-step procedure was developed for identifying road paving closure potential. The first step identified all of the densely developed areas, state trunk lines, and county primary roads which would be exempt from closure. Then all stub or discountinous roads were located, and then all roads less than 2 miles (J.2km) long were put under scrutiny. Finally, longer road segments that were duplicated by nearly parallel roads were identified. Almost 200 miles (320km) of country roads with closure potential were identified, most of them 2 miles or less in length.

Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Social, Economic, and Environmental Factors. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

01411548

pp 32-35

1979

Transportation Research Record

58th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

0309029635

Print

Figures (1) ; Maps; References (6)

Costs; County roads; Farm roads; Farming; Highway planning; Low volume roads; Policy; Rural highways; Strategic planning

Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy

TRIS, TRB

Jan 30 1980 12:00AM

• DEVELOPMENT OF TRUCK TRIP-GENERATION RATES BY GENERALIZED LAND-USE CATEGORIES
• DYNAMIC SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE CONNECTICUT TURNPIKE
• ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND DESIGN FOR RAPID TRANSIT FACILITIES
• ESTIMATING SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
• NEW LOCATION PATTERNS AND U.S. TRANSPORTATION POLICY. ABRIDGMENT
• RESIDENTIAL DISLOCATION: COSTS AND CONSEQUENCES