Roadside Maintenance
For virtually all municipalities throughout the U.S., there is a constant need to do more with less—to meet a growing range of maintenance needs with fewer men and fewer machines.
This is particularly true in the Southwest, where cities are experiencing rapid growth, which has created a growing...
Hurricane Michael has moved through the state of Georgia, leaving damage to homes and businesses, downed trees and power lines, blocked roads and traffic signal outages across the state.
In accordance with Gov. Nathan Deal’s seven-day state of emergency declaration, which was expanded Wednesday...
Photo source: Georgia DOT
The Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) new Coordinated Highway Assistance & Maintenance Program (CHAMP) begins its phased launch today in Northeast Georgia, with plans to roll out the service to five other districts in the state by this May.
CHAMP will serve most interstates across...
Cat M318D clears silt and grass from ditches along Florida State Highway 100.
Rural Flagler County is where you’ll likely find County Roads and Bridge Department crews clearing silt and grass from ditches along the 224 miles of roadway that they maintain, 91 paved and 133 unpaved. A Cat M318D Wheel Excavator is the machine of choice for the work.
Flounder, mangrove snapper...
News
May 31, 2013
It was a prickly situation. The weeds had to be removed, but using herbicides too near a water supply can be a dicey proposition due to federal regulations. Mowing weeds reduces them vertically, but they are still there, lying horizontally on the ground until collected.
And perhaps most important...
Article
July 06, 2012
As the land steward of a private nonprofit nature center, I maintain 210 acres on a shoestring budget and prioritize ecological restoration in areas that are easily accessible and frequently used by education programs.
Consequently, a small wedge of land—partially under the jurisdiction of the Linn...
Article
July 06, 2012
Pottawattamie County, Iowa, is located within the deep loess deposits in southwest Iowa along the Missouri River.
The county has varying landscape, from the semiarid loess bluffs on the western edge to some exposed glacial deposits and more level terrain to the east. The area receives about 30 in....
Cold winter months might not seem like the ideal season to invest in roadside vegetation management. But according to Victor Maddox, Ph.D., senior research associate at Mississippi State University, that’s precisely the best time for DOTs to focus on eliminating invasive species to both save money...
Winters typically are a time of looking ahead for roadside crews, a time of preparation and evaluation for the following spring’s roadside vegetation management plans. This winter, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is taking more action instead to get ahead of the game.
“Typically...
Performing routine bareground herbicide applications is instrumental in maintaining roadside safety and appearance. It helps eliminate unsightly plants that can obstruct right-of-ways and damage infrastructure.
Safety is the most important component of bareground control, Crop Production Services...
News
August 18, 2011
District 6 of the Mississippi Department of Transporation (MDOT) is in the midst of a trial fall application of an herbicide, using the product to specifically target cogongrass.
Chris Bryan, roadside development manager for District 6, said the weed is troublesome because it can grow nearly...
News
August 18, 2011
With fall right around the corner, roadsides and rights of way across the country are seeing weeds pop up like wildfire. In addition to crowding out natural vegetation, they can be an eyesore, and potentially dangerous if they obstruct vision on the roadways. The answer to the problem is usually...
Article
July 15, 2011
Over the past few years there have been some changes regarding roadside vegetation management with a shift focused on three things: (1) reducing maintenance costs, (2) implementing native vegetation on the right-of-way and (3) selectively removing problematic, undesirable weeds and invasive species...
Article
March 26, 2010
Keeping traffic on the move and invasive weeds out of roadside areas is a full-time job in a bustling city like Atlanta. The region’s long growing season, high humidity and subtropical climate create perfect conditions for weeds to pop up wherever they want, threaten pavement integrity and change...
Article
March 12, 2008
Pennsylvania is a wellspring of history, business and architecture. As the second state to enter the union, it’s no surprise it chose the motto “Virtue, Liberty and Independence,” and its nickname, “The Keystone State.”
When it comes to vegetation management throughout the state, the Pennsylvania...
Article
May 17, 2002
Each spring, the tender blades of grass stretch their heads
up with new hope. And every year, an employee of some highway maintenance
department comes along and chops off the heads of these shoots. The highway
department also plants grass or wildflowers or trees, but here we focus on the
tools to...
Article
May 17, 2002
Each spring, the tender blades of grass stretch their heads up with new hope. And every year, an employee of some highway maintenance department comes along and chops off the heads of these shoots. The highway department also plants grass or wildflowers or trees, but here we focus on the tools to...
Article
May 17, 2002
In roadside maintenance, unlike in golf, long grass is OK.
But like in golf, you want to get rid of the unsightly weeds. Last September,
the National Roadside Vegetation Management Association (NRVMA) met in Waco,
Texas, to discuss the inside story of how to keep the nation’s roadsides
tidy. The...
Article
October 04, 2001
Keeping traffic flowing means everything to business owners along a busy commercial streetKeeping traffic flowing means everything to business owners along a busy commercial street. If the street has to be closed long for repaving, it can cost a business big money in lost revenue. But as a recent...
Article
June 11, 2001
In the average persons life as a child passenger and later as a driver on the roads of the country, he or she may have no ideaIn the average persons life as a child passenger and later as a driver on the roads of the country, he or she may have no idea of the effort that goes into maintaining the...
