Dirt, Gravel & Low Volume Roads
Dirt, Gravel & Low Volume Paved Road Program
As explained on the Penn State Center for Dirt & Gravel Road Studies (CDGRS) website, “Pennsylvania’s Dirt Gravel, and Low Volume Paved Road Maintenance Program provides funding to eliminate stream pollution caused by runoff and sediment from the State’s comprehensive network of unpaved and low volume public roads. The Program was enacted into law in April 1997 as Section 9106 of the PA Vehicle Code, with $5 Million in annual funding for “environmentally sensitive road maintenance” for unpaved roads. Beginning in 2014-15, a portion of the Program’s funding was directed towards paved or sealed low volume roads with traffic counts of 500 vehicles per day or less. The goal of the Program is to create a more environmentally and economically sustainable low volume road network through education, outreach, and project funding.”
Bottomless Arch Stream Crossing
Road project before:
Road project after:
Fayette County Projects
Since 1997, over $2 million dollars in Dirt & Gravel funds have been distributed to complete 66 projects in Fayette County, with two more projects currently under contract for nearly $204,000. The Low Volume Paved Road program has awarded over $761,000 in funding to complete 19 projects in Fayette County, with one additional project currently under contract for $130,000. The majority of these projects have addressed erosion, drainage problems, and undersized stream crossings that interfere with the passage of aquatic organisms, thereby improving water quality in numerous Fayette County streams.
In addition to the CDGRS, which supplies technical assistance and does a program audit every three years, the county program is directed by a Quality Assurance Board (QAB). This county-based multidisciplinary advisory board establishes county-specific policies and ranking criteria, and recommends projects to the District board of directors for approval. Members of the QAB for The Fayette County Conservation District include:
Doug Petro, FCCD
Scott Opfer, PA Fish & Boat Commission
Phil Evans, NRCS
Terri Springer, non-voting / FCCD
The QAB meets at 10:45 a.m., on the 4th Monday of each month at the FCCD office.
Program Information
To arrange a pre-application site visit, or for other questions, please contact our office.
For more detailed information about funding help for stream pollution on unpaved and low volume roads in Fayette County:
For more detailed information about the program, visit the Penn State Center for Dirt & Gravel Road Studies website:
Fillable Grant Application:
Application Instructions
Traffic Counts for Low Volume Paved Roads
Instructions and Form
Fayette County
Conservation District
10 Nickman Plaza
Lemont Furnace, PA 15456
(724) 438-4497