This road is being graded us part of Council’s annual grading program.
Council maintains over 500 kilometres of unsealed roads. We have two grader machines with crews working hard to service this huge road network.
What grading involves
Grading is a maintenance process that improves the surface of unsealed roads.
A grader machine:
- scrapes away potholes, corrugations and bumps
- mixes and reshapes the existing rock and road material
- smooths the surface to make the road safer and more comfortable to drive on.
We may spray the road with water while grading. This helps the fine material bind together, reduces dust during works, and helps the surface last longer.
How often do roads get graded?
Unsealed roads are graded on a flexible schedule, with safety and use as the main priorities. We consider:
- the amount of traffic
- impacts of rains and storms events
- local conditions and issues
As a guide:
- Busiest roads – may be graded up to three times a year
(for example: Pelverata Road, Lonnavale Road, North Huon Road and Mountain River Road) - Connector roads – roads that link local roads to busier routes may be graded once or twice a year
- Quietest roads – with only a few properties or very low traffic may be graded less often
For more information and FAQs on our road grading, construction and maintenance programs visit FAQs – Huon Valley Council
Why don’t we just seal all our roads?
We’d love to seal every road in the Huon Valley – but the high cost makes this impossible.
Sealing costs:
- Around $700,000 per kilometre for a rural road
- Around $1.5 million per kilometre for an urban road
Because of these costs, we must carefully prioritise which roads are sealed. Sealing all unsealed roads would make rates unaffordable.
For more information and FAQs on our road grading, construction and maintenance programs visit FAQs – Huon Valley Council