Agenda - 05-03-1993 - III-C - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 than pavement. Private roads are maintained by the homeowners wh' ch use the road, rather than by the NC Department of Transportation . -,c- Private roads are considerably :ess expensive to construct. As a ru:e of thumb, ft costs about S50 per linear foot to construct a tv =ion road to p'-' ' - standards , a .--,: and S15 per linear for construct4cn to private standards . The cost for half-width of construction for a 130 length cf road (the minimum lot with re-u' re,4 in the Subdivision Regulations ) is thus $3250 for a public road, and $975 for a private road . Thus , one could expect that a lots with 130 ' of road frontage in a public road subdivision would cost at least S2275 more than a comparable lot in a private road subdivision , all other factors being equal . Assuming a lot depth of roughly two times lot width, a two-acre lot would have about 200 feet of road frontage. This translates to S5000 for public road construction compared to $1500 for private road construction, a difference of $3500 . Maintenance Cost There are no private maintenance costs associated with public roads once they are taken over by NCDOT. It is the responsibility of the developer to maintain roads dedicated to the public until there are enough occupied residences to meet standards for acceptance into the State secondary road system. When density standards are met, the property owners may petition NCDOT to assume maintenance resPonsibility . State maintenance does not begin until NCDOT agrees to accept that responsibility. Private roads, on the other hand, must be maintained by the . homeowners. The ongoing maintenance cost to the homeowner is one of the disadvantages of a private road when compared to a public road. The cost of maintenance varies greatly, depending on a number of factors. ractors which can influence long-term maintenance costs include the overall length and amount of use, the auality of initial construction, and condition of the underlying soil at the time of construction. Also imnortant is the steepness of the road. The rate of deterioration, and the cost and di 'Ficulty of maintenance increases where the grade is steep for a long distance. Run-off erodes the ditches more quickly and creates gullies and the "washboard" effect on the road itself. The grade is considered by C.7DOT to be relatively steep at grades of 9% or more. The cost of maintaining a private road during any given year will be considerable less than the initial construction cost. According to a local grading contractor , gravel roads should be bladed at least once per yea,-, at an estimated cost of about $500 per mile. Two inches of fresh gravel is generally recommended at 5-year intervals , at a cost of about $ 4 , 000 per mile. In the