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Improving Roadside Ditch Maintenance Practices in Ohio

Matos, John A
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2777-7077
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470753590

Abstract Details

2016, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering and Applied Science: Civil Engineering.
At a county level, the Ohio Department of Transportation is responsible for the maintenance of an estimated 43,000 miles of roadside. Currently, the Ohio Department of Transportation lacks the necessary workforce to maintain all of its ditches. Limited staff, equipment, and funding have put a strain on county garages, which are not only tasked with ditch maintenance, but also with guardrail installation, pavement repair, vegetation control, and snow removal, among others. With a wide selection of ditchers on the market, coupled with the introduction of GPS additives for machine control, there are opportunities for a better ditching solution that will increase production, reduce labor hours, and reduce costs. Combining newer, more specialized equipment and better erosion and sedimentation control techniques will also reduce the time between maintenance. This research was not meant to show that one particular manufacturer is better than the other, but to demonstrate that there is more specialized equipment than those currently being used. In the cases that data was able to be gathered regarding time, it was evident that all of these newer, more specialized equipment exhibited faster productivity rates than the traditional equipment. These faster productivity rates in turn translate to lower costs, as evidenced by this study. In order to facilitate the selection of erosion control products to go along with roadside ditch maintenance, a framework was developed for usage by ODOT maintenance personnel in order to select proper channel linings. This framework proposes the use of already available tools, such as ADOT’s Rational Method Tool and the NRCS’ Web Soil Survey, as well as the use of a spreadsheet for shear stress calculations, developed specifically for this project. By using these tools maintenance personnel should be able to properly select a channel lining that resists the erosive forces of the flow of water in their ditch. The increased usage of erosion control at a county level will not only provide environmental benefits, but economic benefits as well, particularly by maintaining ditch grades and shapes in their intended state, and by increasing the amount of time needed between maintenance.
Hazem Elzarka, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Steven Buchberger, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jonathan Corey, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
82 p.
Civil Engineering
roadside; ditch; maintenance; erosion control; sedimentation; ditch cleaning

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Matos, J. A. (2016). Improving Roadside Ditch Maintenance Practices in Ohio [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470753590

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Matos, John. Improving Roadside Ditch Maintenance Practices in Ohio. 2016. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470753590.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Matos, John. "Improving Roadside Ditch Maintenance Practices in Ohio." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470753590

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1470753590
1,035
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.