Roadwork at Land Between the Lakes
This page features completed roadwork projects and road improvement updates across Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Here you can view highlights of recent roadwork improvements, stay informed of completed projects through our quarterly reports, and send us your feedback.
Road Maintenance: Key Points
- Funding for roads is a shared responsibility between the Forest Service, Federal Highways Administration, State of Tennessee, and Commonwealth of Kentucky. Land Between the Lakes has approximately 465 miles of forest system roads, which include 148 miles of paved roads, 180 miles of gravel roads, and 113 miles of natural surface roads. Only 12 of these 465 miles of forest system roads on the unit have no cemetery access.
- The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Tennessee Department of Transportation are responsible for 120+ miles of paved roads in Land Between the Lakes. Resurfacing, striping, pothole repair, and roadside mowing are some of the maintenance tasks that the states perform each year on these roads. Land Between the Lakes has never received funding to maintain these roads.
- There are 273 known cemeteries throughout Land Between the Lakes. Some of the cemeteries have access off forest service system roads and others are accessed via non-system access routes. Cemeteries which are accessed off non-forest system roads do not have a direct funding source for maintenance. Many of these cemeteries are family plots which were not historically accessed by road.
- Lack of appropriate access to some cemeteries is recognized as an issue to be addressed. We repair lesser-used roads by public request as there are not enough funds to continuously maintain and grade these roads. We continue to make great strides with our responsiveness to repair requests and concerns are quickly addressed by our Heritage Program staff, including on weekends.
- Roads were not created for the traffic or type of use that we experience today. Many of the road surfaces are dirt and lack a base, and repairs can be quickly undone by rain or other weather events. In high traffic areas, some roads may require grading every year, and others may need repaired several times a year, especially after storm and ice events.
- Road maintenance is performed by contract, as the unit does not own road maintenance equipment. The price of grading per mile varies on the road condition at the time of inspection and quote. As such, grading can cost between $400-1,200+ per mile.
- $226,520.56 was spent on road maintenance completed between October 1, 2019 and August 20, 2020. Road maintenance projects included culvert replacement, road grading, cleaning ditches, rock replacement, removal of down trees, and mowing.
- In cases of road damage caused by large storm events, we can apply for funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) Program. ERFO dollars spent October 1, 2019 to August 20, 2020 were $1,180,378.64.
- Funding for roads is a shared responsibility between the Forest Service, Federal Highways Administration, State of Tennessee, and Commonwealth of Kentucky. Land Between the Lakes has approximately 465 miles of forest system roads, which include 148 miles of paved roads, 180 miles of gravel roads, and 113 miles of natural surface roads. Only 12 of these 465 miles of forest system roads on the unit have no cemetery access.
- The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Tennessee Department of Transportation are responsible for 120+ miles of paved roads in Land Between the Lakes. Resurfacing, striping, pothole repair, and roadside mowing are some of the maintenance tasks that the states perform each year on these roads. Land Between the Lakes has never received funding to maintain these roads.
- There are 267 known cemeteries throughout Land Between the Lakes. Some of the cemeteries have access off forest service system roads and others are accessed via non-system access routes. Cemeteries which are accessed off non-forest system roads do not have a direct funding source for maintenance. Many of these cemeteries are family plots which were not historically accessed by road.
- Lack of appropriate access to some cemeteries is recognized as an issue to be addressed. We repair lesser-used roads by public request as there are not enough funds to continuously maintain and grade these roads. We continue to make great strides with our responsiveness to repair requests and concerns are quickly addressed by our Heritage Program staff, including on weekends.
- Roads were not created for the traffic or type of use that we experience today. Many of the road surfaces are dirt and lack a base, and repairs can be quickly undone by rain or other weather events. In high traffic areas, some roads may require grading every year, and others may need repaired several times a year, especially after storm and ice events.
- Road maintenance is performed by contract, as the unit does not own road maintenance equipment. The price of grading per mile varies on the road condition at the time of inspection and quote. As such, grading can cost between $400-1,200+ per mile.
- $226,520.56 was spent on road maintenance completed between October 1, 2019 and August 20, 2020. Road maintenance projects included culvert replacement, road grading, cleaning ditches, rock replacement, removal of down trees, and mowing.
- In cases of road damage caused by large storm events, we can apply for funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) Program. ERFO dollars spent October 1, 2019 to August 20, 2020 were $1,180,378.64.
Road Reports and Resources:
Reports are of completed projects only. They do not include work that is upcoming or currently in progress. Additionally, any roadwork completed before June 10, 2019 was performed by the previous contractor and at this time we do not have access to their work history.
- Road Maintenance Projects Completed July – September 2021
- Road Maintenance Projects Completed April – June 2021
- Road Maintenance Projects Completed January 2020-March 2021
- Road Maintenance Projects Completed October-December 2020
- Road Maintenance Projects Completed July-September 2020
- Road Maintenance Projects Completed October 2019-August 2020
- Emergency Road Maintenance Projects Completed October 2019-August 2020
- Road Maintenance Projects Completed June-December 2019
- Road maintenance requirements are outlined in the Area Management Plan.
- Details about legal use for each road within Land Between the Lakes can be found in the Motor Vehicle Use Map.
Within the Motor Vehicle Use Map, you may notice that each road is assigned a Level, 1-5. The level of service provided by a specific road and the maintenance required for that road, consistent with road management objectives and maintenance criteria, is outlined below:
-Level 5 – Roads that provide a high degree of user comfort and convenience. Normally they are two-lane, paved facilities or aggregate surfaces with dust abatement.
-Level 4 – Roads that provide a moderate degree of user comfort and convenience at moderate speeds. Most are two-lane and aggregate surfaced. Some may be single lane, and some may have dust abatement.
-Level 3 – Roads open and maintained for travel by a prudent driver in a standard passenger car. User comfort and convenience are not considered priorities. Typically low speed, single lane with turnouts, and native or aggregate surfacing.
-Level 2 – Roads open for use by high-clearance vehicles. Passenger car traffic is discouraged. Traffic is minor administrative, permitted or dispersed recreation. Non-traffic generated maintenance is minimal.
-Level 1 – These roads are closed to motorized use for a period of one or more years. They may be suitable and used for non-motorized uses with custodial maintenance.
On September 11, 2020, members of Between the Rivers, Inc. organized a meeting with U.S. Forest Service staff to discuss the condition of cemetery roads at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Below are the notes and handout from the meeting.
Road Improvements Highlight Reel:
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Questions, concerns, or feedback on road maintenance at Land Between the Lakes?
