Fixing Lancaster’s Roads

For almost 30 years, Pennsylvania’s roads have been fixed by the Dirt & Gravel/Low Volume Rds. Program.

The Dirt, Gravel & Low Volume Road Maintenance Program is a government funded program that is meant to eliminate pollution caused by runoff from dirt, gravel, and low volume roads.

Credit to Tyler Tomlinson via Google Sheets.

The State Conservation Commission provides grants to groups who go out and fix those roads. These roads are very damaging to the local ecosystems and larger ecosystems if the streams are connected to lakes or ponds.

When a road begins to break down, the sediment or debris from the road are washed down hills or fields into the local rivers. These different particles can build up in the river causing blockage and / or shallower waters. If the waters are more shallow than usual, certain kinds of fish can drown or they might not be able to reproduce. Subtle changes to a stream can destroy entire ecosystems. These ecosystems are destroyed because if there are less fish or insects in the streams, then there is less food for certain predators which can kill those predators. Every part of an ecosystem has an effect on other parts in that ecosystem.

These streams can also be affected in other ways from runoff sediments from roads. For example, if these roads have certain chemicals in them, those chemicals can mix into the stream. These chemicals can poison the immediate animals in the stream but also any animals that consume those poisoned animals. The plastic soda can ring around a turtle’s neck is one of the most common images people think of pollution but some of the most dangerous pollution is the kind you cannot easily see. When you look upon a stream, you may think it is just cloudy or muddy but that might actually be sediment and runoff from the local road.

Certain roads are more likely to result in runoff and pollution. One of these types of roads is a gravel road. A gravel road is any path designated for cars that uses bits of gravel as a path. These gravel roads can break up the dirt beneath it or the cars can end up crushing bits of gravel into a sort of dust. When rains pours or wind blows, this debris can end up finding its way into the local streams.

A gravel road located within a 100ft distance of a stream. Credit to Tyler Tomlinson.

Another type of road that can hurt an ecosystem is a dirt road. While this type of road may be more common, it is still very destructive to the local streams. When a car drives over a dirt road, dirt and dust is kicked up and finds its way to the rivers.

The State Conservation Commission has provided grants to the Lancaster area to fund certain projects. In 2023, this commission was able to fund almost $600,000 worth of projects. Around $480,000 of that was for low volume road projects and the rest went towards dirt and gravel road projects. This past year, the commission was also able to provide around $200,000 more for several different projects.

A low volume road leading down into an area near a stream. Credit to Tyler Tomlinson.

These projects vary from support roads in Lancaster city to less traveled roads in Rapho Township. One of the projects in Lancaster city attempts to keep stormwater out of the sewer system to avoid overflowing the sewer system. They will employ infiltration trenches to catch the pollutants while allowing the water to be absorbed into the ground. Other areas in Rapho Township will spread the stormwater over a larger surface area to avoid erosion.

One of the challenges faced by the members of the program is working on something over 100 feet from a stream. The Dirt & Gravel/Low Volume Road Program focuses mainly on environmental and stream protection rather than overall road fixes. Any work done over 100 feet from a stream can lower the ranking of a project in the overall program. There is more funding for different projects in 2025.

Applying For Funding

If you want to conduct a project of repair or alteration on an unpaved or low volume road, you are most likely going to need funding. You can request funding from the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission through your local Conservation District. If your project takes place in Lancaster, you would send the paperwork to the Lancaster county Conservation District. The paperwork you would be sending is called a Grant Application Packet. Once all of this is filled out and completed, you would then submit it to the local Conservation District. The paperwork would then be examined by the District’s Quality Assurance Board. The District’s Quality Assurance Board would then award your project the recommended grants for the project.

Credit to Tyler Tomlinson via Google Sheets.

Price Of A Repair

When applying for funding, you will need to calculate an estimation of materials and supplies. Penn State University has provided a rough estimation guide from 2015. For this guide to be useful, you must convert it to modern day inflation rates. Here are some estimations of materials using today’s inflation rates:

Stone can cost anywhere from $13 to $37 per ton
Underdrain can cost between $2 to $6 per linear ft
Culverts can cost anywhere from $9 to $45 per linear ft
Headwall / Endwall can cost between $66 to $133 each
French Mattresses can cost around $3,700 each
Geo-Fabrics can cost anywhere from $400 to $1,000 each

These prices are strictly just for the cost of the materials. This does not include cost of installation or labor. Those metrics can typically be calculated by doubling the cost of the materials.

Quality Assurance Test

The Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) process is used to understand and test the DGR/LVR programs within the Conservation Districts. This process normally takes only one day but can take longer depending on the size of the projects. The staff who conduct the QA/QC process will interview certain staff members such as board members. Municipalities officials should arrange for a meeting with the QA/QC staff to convey how the program normally runs. The QA/QC staff will conduct a review of any hard files, especially previous project files. For a Conservation District to comfortably pass the QA/QC process, they should review all previous notes given and review the policies pushed by the commissions. If there are any complications or questions, there needs to be adequate communication between QA/QC staff and Conservation District officials.

Grant Application Packet

The Grand Application Packet is comprised of the Grant Application, the Work Plan, and the Expenditure Sheets. The Grant Application is a single page empty request form which is to be submitted by the road-owning individual or company. On the back of the Grant Application is the Work Plan. The Work Plan is a precise sketch of a map of the intended work to be done. The two Expenditure Sheets are optimized estimations of cost for materials and services. One sheet should be for the funds requested from the grant and the other sheet should be for in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions are contributions provided by a third party company.