Looking at Michigan Road Maintenance From a Different View

When you think of the term ‘road maintenance’, what usually comes to mind is construction barrels, cement mixers, salt trucks and lots of delays. However, road maintenance isn’t just about clearing snow and filling potholes. There is more that can be done to help our roads last longer.

Vegetation control and maintenance isn’t just about mowing grass along the roadside where you see tall grass and trees growing. Vegetation control also needs to be done around and on the many concrete walls and structures. By removing and controlling the vegetation on and around these areas, it helps to extend the life of the concrete and help keep everyone safe on the roads. Owen Tree Service has completed many contracts performing a variety of different types of vegetation control projects including brushing, tree removals, and herbicide applications in ROW’s.

Some areas along our expressways and highways have been designed with sloping concrete walls to aid in drainage and to help direct the flow of water into storm drains. Other concrete structures such as sound walls along the roads are there to act as a buffer for the neighborhoods that border the expressways to the road noise that naturally comes when you have a high volume of traffic that moves along our roadways. When vegetation takes over these areas, it can have an adverse effect on the motoring public and affects the longevity of the concrete.

Before vegetation control job on MDOT right-of-way. | Owen Tree Service

Vegetation control along the side of the expressways and highways in the Metro Detroit area, as a part of the ongoing road maintenance that MDOT does, is aiming to help make the roadsides easier to maintain, giving clear vision and making driving a bit safer. Owen Tree Service has been providing vegetation control services for many years.

When vegetation is cleared away from the cement, it dries out quicker and helps the concrete last longer. When organic material, specifically roots of any kind, get in between the cracks in the concrete, the freeze and thaw cycle breaks the cement at the joints and cracks, thus shortening the life span of the concrete. Clearing trees and brush away from the concrete walls and support structures helps to extend the life of the concrete/cement.

Another part of roadside vegetation control is the clearing out of the tall growing vegetation along the roadside in the area between the edge of road and the right-of-way fence. Multiple benefits arise from this. One benefit is that when the right of way fence is damaged and needs repair, those repairs can be done more quickly when the fence repair crew can easily access the fence. Having a clear vision area from the roadside to the right of way fence also aids in the prompt identification of fence sections in need of repair. Making sure that the tall and incumbering vegetation is controlled aids in repair in that the fence crew does not need to wait for a tree or mowing crew to come and clear the area ahead of scheduling repairs. In some locations the vegetation can be very tall and dense and may contain actual trees and not just weeds and brush that need to be removed. By having a vegetation management plan in place, this can speed up the repair process.

Another safety benefit to controlling the roadside vegetation is that it can help deter wildlife and people from accessing high-speed roadways. Inevitably, wildlife will find their way to the expressways and roadways but, having the clear vision area between the roadside and the right-of-way fence, which can be achieved with vegetation management, the motoring public can be aware and be able to take defensive maneuvers to avoid an animal strike. Visibility and awareness are some of the keys to safety on our roadways, to make sure that everyone gets home safely. Managing roadside vegetation can help with that.

The before and after pictures are like night and day. Upon first glance, one would think that there was soil under all of the vegetation in this area with the density and height of the vegetation.

After vegetation control job on MDOT right-of-way. | Owen Tree Service

Owen Tree Service has been doing this type of work along the many roadways and expressways in Michigan for over 30 years. This area is just one of our success stories.

Road maintenance, and helping with the longevity of our roadways, isn’t just about the concrete mixer, the asphalt layer, or the mowing crew. It is also involves the tree crews trimming trees and removing overgrown vegetation along Michigan right-of-ways.