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Access Roads <br />Access roads are frequently traveled roads which are not used for the transportation of coal. <br />Access road preliminary designs and construction drawings are certified by a qualified registered <br />professional engineer. <br />The main access road will be an existing road from Highway 12 to the coal loadout in Lorencito <br />Canyon. The existing road provides access for gas production, ranching and timbering up <br />Lorencito Canyon and will provide access for personnel and equipment. Access roads are <br />designed [o American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials Policy on Geometric <br />Design for Local Rural Roads. Access roads are shown on Map 2.05.3-2. <br />The main access road will be used primarily by employees of the mine and for the delivery of <br />supplies. Coal will be hauled by rail. It is not anticipated that there will be a significant change <br />in traffic on Highway 12 that would require acceleration or deceleration lanes, State Highway <br />signage or the reduction of speeds, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. <br />Other access roads will follow existing roads, ridge lines, and stable slopes when possible; and <br />follow the topography so as to minimize cuts and fills and avoid flood plains. Any crossings of <br />drainages will be done at right angles if possible. Except for crossings, no segments of access road <br />are located in the channel of an ephemeral, intermittent, or perennial stream. Intermittent or <br />• perennial natural drainages will not be altered or relocated. No unique, endangered, or special <br />environmental or cultural resources are known to be impacted by the road system. <br />Access road design will accommodate the needs of specific uses of the road. The design maximum <br />speed is 25 miles per hour. Grades will be limited to 15 % for limited distances prescribed by the <br />regulations. <br />A 20-foot-wide travel way is proposed for the main access road. The travel way is crowned (5%), <br />ditched adjacent to cuts, and has culverts or swales when necessary to prevent ponding. Typical <br />cross sections are shown in Figure 2.05.3-14. <br />Vegetation will be cleared for no more than the width needed for the roadway, drainage control, <br />and any cut and fill. Topsoil will be removed from road cut and embankment footprints and stored <br />for use in reclamation and as a vegetation growth medium for cut and fill slopes. <br />Cut slopes will not be steeper than 1.5h:1v in unconsolidated materials or 0.25h:1v in rock. In <br />areas of steep side slopes, the road alignment will be shifted so that the entire road width rests on <br />the cut benches. <br />Embankment materials will be free of organic matter, peat, or other unsuitable (acid-producing) <br />materials. [n the event an embankment is required on side-slopes greater than 33%, the <br />embankment will be plowed, stepped, or keyed. Embankment slopes will not be steeper than <br />• 1.Sh: lv unless the material consists of a minimum of SS% rock, in which case the slopes may be <br />~2-0~ <br />Iaeerci~oPm~~PMT(4]S~luly2001..pA 2.05-26 (Revised 7/25/01) <br />