Vegetation Maintenance Cost Comparison
There are currently six counties in Western Washington that maintain
their road systems without the use of herbicides. WSDOT developed a comparison
of cost and results between roadside maintenance practices on these county
roads and those on state highways within the counties. The findings show
that in order to preserve the same level of service WSDOT maintenance
currently delivers, without the use of herbicides, the overall cost of
roadside vegetation management would be close to double.
A Comparison of Roadside
Maintenance Practices - Impacts of Herbicide use on Cost and
Results (pdf,
2.07mb)
Most of the cost increase incurred when looking at eliminating herbicide
use comes from maintenance changes at the road shoulder. In most cases
WSDOT keeps this area vegetation free. In the six counties that don't
use herbicides, grass is allowed to grow up to the edge of pavement. Further
research will be conducted in the coming years for road shoulder maintenance
in areas throughout the state.
The information in this report is now being checked against information gathered through actual field trials and part of ongoing research into alternative methods for maintenance of vegetation at the edge of pavement.
For more information, contact Ray Willard at (360) 705-7865, or email
willarr@wsdot.wa.gov.
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