Road Publications - COFORD Forest Road Manual

Guidelines for the design, construction and management of forest roads.

One of the better roading manuals that Logging-on has come across, is the COFORD Forest Road Manual. COFORD is the Irish National Council for Forest Research and Development and is based in Dublin. The manual was published in 2004, and is authored by T Ryan, H Phillips, J Ramsay and J Dempsey. The manual is divided into the following sections:
 

1. Introduction: This includes a handy quick referencing guide, which gives the reader a shortcut to the subject area they are looking for. It also has a glossary which clearly explains the terminology used.
2. Planning and design: This section begins with environmental considerations and safety aspects. The economics of forest road density are discussed, also covering cost benefit analysis. Other interesting areas are forest road design standards, forest planning and forest road surveys and layouts.
3. Construction and features: This is the largest section of the manual. It follows the steps required to construct or upgrade a new road. Clearing the right-of-way, drainage, road formations and completion of the road are well covered. Other specific areas include forest road construction problems, surfacing materials, quarries (and pits), embankments, stream crossings, road geometry and log loading areas.
4. Management of forest roads: Here the focus is on road upgrades, road maintenance and repairs and road closure.
5. Appendices: Additional information on aspects such as signage for use on forest roadworks, table of gradients, specifications for road material, Talbots formulae for waterway areas and curve widening.