18 - Partial Sidecast Pullback Practices / Forest Road Deactivation Practices in the Pacific Northwest

Forest Road Deactivation Practices
in the Pacific Northwest

19 - Partial Sidecast Pullback Practices	Sequence of Activities, Levels of Deactivation

Suggested Sequence of Activities

Familiarize yourself with the site characteristics as well as safety hazards above and below the road.
Decompact road surface where you will place retrieved fill materials, and outslope surface.
Pull back all potentially unstable road fill.
Place retrieved fill in the proper sequence and seal it tight against the road cut.
Leave enough running width for the road as per the access management plan for the area, i.e., 3.0m for 4-wheel drive access.
Employ good water management strategies.

Access Management and Levels of Deactivation

Road deactivation must go hand in hand with access management planning. Short-term (seasonal or temporary) deactivation should take place whenever a road is not required for brief periods ranging from several months to several years. Measures include waterbars and cross-ditches in critical areas. You must ensure that all drainage structures are fully functional. Be sure to breach grader berms frequently.

Semi-permanent deactivation measures are applied to road systems not to be used operationally for extended periods, i.e. 5-20 years or longer. Quite often, 2-wheel or 4-wheel drive vehicle access must be maintained on these roads. Measures in addition to the above include backup cross-ditches at culverts, or their removal in unstable or erodible areas, frequent breaching of grader berms, and extra crossditches at switchbacks, junctions, steep sections, and long, continuous grades. Cut/ fill slopes must be stable and non-erodible. Operators should inslope/outslope road surfaces where necessary to avoid relying on ditches only.

Hints for Decompacting Road Surfaces

Excavate from the ditchline toward the fill slope.
Overlap bucket excavations, digging deeper as you get further away from ditch.

This locates native ground fast and establishes stable areas to support pullback materials.

Permanent deactivation requires removal of drainage structures and grader berms, further to the above measures. To provide slope stability and proper water management, operators may employ additional measures as mentioned in this infoflip, i.e., blanket drains, french drains, or trench drains. Contrary to popular belief, partial or full sidecast pullback is not a requirement for permanent deactivation. It should only be applied to deal with unstable fills, or where recontoured and revegetated sidehills are required to achieve the visual quality objectives for an area.

Deactivation Inspections

Supervisors and operators should frequently self-inspect their work during or shortly after completion of the work. Focus on water flow patterns, signs of erosion, and correct cut/fill slope angles. Deactivated roads should be systematically inspected after the first major rainstorm or spring runoff following the deactivation work, and after every more severe rainstorm thereafter. Be prepared to take corrective or preventative measures where necessary. In some cases, hand work or explosives may be the only option to correct deficiencies.

19 - Partial Sidecast Pullback Practices