This course was developed in partnership with the City and County Pavement Improvement Center, funded by California Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. This class delivery is supported by the California Department of Transportation, Division of Local Assistance, which offers reduced registration fees to employees of California's city, county, regional, and other public agencies.

Description

Unlike many countries worldwide, the US does not have a formal “owner” of unpaved road knowledge, guidance, and specifications. Although the Federal Highway Administration and the US Forest Service have both supported the development of guidance documentation, initiatives have not been coordinated and the guidance is often contradictory. This has led to development of numerous local guidance and specification documents, specific to local conditions, which also are often contradictory and often provide no clear details for what factors they apply to. All of these guidance and specification documents are based on local empirical experience, are not based on performance-related testing, and are not necessarily applicable to the entire United States unpaved road network.

This course aims to introduce performance-related thinking to unpaved road management so that practitioners can predict likely performance of their roads using very simple procedures. These design procedures allow practitioners to evaluate various unpaved road design, maintenance, and management options, including material blending and chemical treatments, and the implications of implementing them, and then to choose options that suit their particular needs and resources. The performance-based approach allows practitioners to predict likely performance on which they can base their decisions.

The course takes participants through a background about unpaved roads; available resources and how to understand the conflicts in them; understanding material, climate, and traffic influences; base and wearing course material selection and specifications; thickness design; drainage design; safety considerations; chemical treatment selection, construction; maintenance; and management. The training also covers converting severely distressed low-volume paved roads into engineered unpaved roads.

Modules

This is a self-paced online class that will take approximately 9 hours to complete. This course is comprised of a series of modules that must be completed in the order presented. At the end of each module is a quiz that must be passed before moving on to the next module. There is no preset schedule or time limit to complete the class. You may exit the course at any time to return and resume later. Your progress will be saved. It is up to you to finish all the modules in your own time and at your own pace.

• Module 1: Introduction and Background to Unpaved Roads and Converting Distressed Paved Roads to Engineered Unpaved Roads - 1 hour, 19 minutes
• Quiz - 5 minutes
• Module 2: Road Investigation - 1 hour, 35 minutes
• Unpaved roads
• Distressed paved roads considered for conversion
• Quiz - 5 minutes
• Module 3: Unpaved Road Design - Part 1 - 1 hour, 9 minutes
• Materials
• Testing
• Preformance prediction
• Preformance improvement through blending (web-tool demonstration)
• Quiz - 5 minutes
• Module 4: Unpaved Road Design - Part 2 - 1 hour, 29 minutes
• Chemical Treatments
• Overview
• Treatment selection (web-tool demonstration
• Quiz - 5 minutes
• Module 5: Unpaved Road Design - Part 3 - 1 hour, 12 minutes
• Geometry
• Thickness
• Drainage
• Resilience
• Safety considerations
• Quiz - 5 minutes
• Module 6: Unpaved Road Construction and Maintenance Considerations - 1 hour, 15 minutes
• Proceedures
• Chemical treatment rejuvenation
• Quiz - 5 minutes
• Module 7: Unpaved Road Management Considerations - 54 minutes
• Management systems
• Cost analysis
• Sustainability
• Quiz - 5 minutes
• Course Evaluation Survey - 5 minutes

What You Will Learn

By the end of this course, students will have a broad understanding of the factors that influence unpaved road performance, and how to deal with them. Students will know how to access appropriate guidance documents and free web-based design tools.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for practitioners who manage unpaved road networks and wish to have a better understanding of the fundamentals so that they can make informed decisions about design, construction, maintenance, and management. Practitioners considering converting distressed low-volume paved roads to engineered unpaved roads will also benefit from the course.

For More Information

About our courses and credits, see our FAQ
About payments, refunds, confirmations, and accessibility, see How to Enroll
Or email us with your questions at registrar@techtransfer.berkeley.edu

Cancellation Policy

To cancel your registration and receive a refund less a $75 processing fee, you must notify TechTransfer at least five (5) working days before the course is scheduled to begin. Notifications must be made in writing and sent by email to registrar@techtransfer.berkeley.edu. We reserve the right to charge the full course fee if proper notification is not sent to TechTransfer. We don't offer refunds for classes with registration fees of $75 or less.

In lieu of canceling your registration, you have three additional options: you may (1) transfer your registration to another class, (2) receive a tuition credit for the total amount, useable toward a future class, or (3) send a substitute in your place. Please contact us at least 5 full working days before the class is scheduled to begin so we may process your request.

If you’ve registered for a self-paced class, you cannot receive a refund once you start the class.

We recommend you discuss any possible problems or online security issues with your IT person before you register for any online classes. If you are worried about connectivity issues, please contact the online training coordinator the week before the class to schedule a time to test your system. If you do not test your system and you have technical issues during a live online class, we will not provide a refund.

Within three business days of registering, you will receive an invitation to the self-paced class along with instructions on how to log into the class page.
Please make sure we have your updated contact information, that you have access to an internet connection for your desktop or laptop, and that you have fully updated your web browser before you attempt to log into Canvas, our Learning Management System. We recommend you discuss any possible problems or online security issues with your IT person before you register for any of our online classes. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the online training coordinator, Jay Johnson.