Economic Analysis Of Alternatives For Railroad Vegetation Control Item Type Thesis Authors Chouinard, Jill Suzanne Download date 01/10/2021 06:42:39 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/8501 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. 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Order Number 1340379 Economic analysis of alternatives for railroad vegetation control Chouinard, Jill Suzanne, M.S. University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1990 Copyright ©1990 by Chouinard, Jill Suzanne. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Aibor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES FOR RAILROAD VEGETATION CONTROL A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE By Jill Suzanne Chouinard, B.S. Fairbanks, Alaska December 1990 (C) Copyright 1990 Jill S. Chouinard Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES FOR RAILROAD VEGETATION CONTROL By Jill Suzanne Chouinard >3-jl 190 Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT A survey was distributed to 174 railroads throughout the United States and selected foreign countries. The purpose of the survey was to determine which methods of vegetation control were used along railroad rights-of-way. Cost data were gathered from the railroads responding to the survey and the data were analyzed and compared to an independent cost analysis. Vegetation control by herbicide application, brush cutting, ballast regulating, reballasting, undercutting, and hand clearing were examined. The least expensive alternatives (in average U.S. data base, 1991 dollar base) were vegetation control with a ballast regulator at a cost of $330 per mile, herbicide application at $485 per mile, and brush cutting with a cost of $554 per mile. An integrated vegetation management program should be developed using a combination of these methods to get the most effective and economic vegetation control. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT............................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................... iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES.........................................ix LIST OF TABLES.......................................... X ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................... xiii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION............................... 1 Objectives and Justification......................... 1 Project History..................................... 2 CHAPTER 2 VEGETATION CONTROL MANAGEMENT.............. 4 Need for Vegetation Control..........................4 Importance of Adequate Drainage..................... 6 Integrated Vegetation Management.................... 8 Unwanted Vegetation........................... 9 Types of Vegetation....................... 10 Annuals.............................. 11 Biennials............................11 Perennials...........................12 Extent of Vegetation Control.............. 13 Evaluation of Vegetation Infestation...... 14 Developing a Vegetation Control Program........ 15 Description of Vegetation Control Areas........ 16 Non-Railroad Vegetation Control................ 17 CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE REVIEW....................... 19 Methods of Vegetation Control...................... 19 Chemical...................................... 19 History of Herbicides..................... 19 Herbicide Usage......................20 Selectivity..........................21 Application Rates.................... 22 Application Volumes.................. 23 Environmental Concerns and Testing....23 Herbicide and Plant Interactions.......... 25 Contact Herbicides................... 26 Translocated Herbicides.............. 27 Photosynthesis Inhibitors....... 27 Cell Growth Inhibitors.......... 28 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. 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Plant Growth Regulators......... 28 Residual Herbicides.............29 Environmental Influences................. 30 Temperature................. 31 Rainfall............................ 32 Microorganisms...................... 33 Herbicide Formulations................... 33 Herbicide Application.................... 34 Liquid Applications................. 34 Spray Trains................... 35 Hi-Rail Vehicles............... 36 Helicopters.................... 38 Backpack Sprayers...............38 Dry Applications.................... 39 Timing of Herbicide Applications.......... 40 Cost of Herbicide Application.............42 Problems with Herbicides................. 43 Non-Herbicides........................... 45 Physical Vegetation Control................... 46 Vegetation Cutting Machines.............. 46 Mowing.............................. 48 Brush Cutting....................... 49 On-Track Brush Cutters.......... 49 Off-Track Brush Cutters......... 51 Bulldozers and Scraping Equipment......... 52 Hand Clearing of Vegetation...............53 Undercutting............................. 54 Ballast Regulator........................ 58 Inhibiting Vegetation Growth..............60 Replace with Cleaner Ballast......... 60 Geotextiles......................... 61 Asphalt Ballast..................... 62 Other Methods................................. 64 Thermal.................................. 65 Biological............................... 67 Selective Revegetation...............67 Natural Predators................... 71 Plant Species Interaction............72 CHAPTER 4 RAILROAD SURVEY...........................76 Survey Recipients.................................. 76 Description of Survey.............................. 77 Summary of Vegetation Control Methods.............. 78 Chemical Methods.............................. 78 Physical Vegetation Control Methods............80 Other Vegetation Control Methods.............. 83 Analysis of Reported Vegetation Control Costs....... 87 Geographic City Cost Conversion............... 87 Costs Reported From Survey.................... 89 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. VI Basic Assumptions............................. 89 Chemical Methods......................... 90 Physical Methods......................... 91 Brush Cutting....................... 93 Ballast Regulator................... 94 Hand Clearing and Burning............ 95 Interpretation of Data............................. 95 CHAPTER 5 INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE.................97 Introduction...................................... 97 Dollar Base Conversion........................ 97 General Assumptions.......................... 100 Maintenance Costs....................... 101 Labor Costs............................. 101 Mobilization & Demobilization Costs...... 103 Overhead, Indirect Costs, & Profit....... 104 Cost Estimates....................................106 Herbicide Application Costs.................. 106 Equipment Costs......................... 107 Safety Equipment........................ 109 Labor Costs............................. Ill Chemical Costs.......................... 112 Cost Conversion to per Mile Basis........ 115 Mobilization & Demobilization Costs...... 116 Overhead, Indirect and Profit Costs...... 117 Brush Cutting................................ 119 Equipment Costs......................... 119 Labor Costs............................. 120 Mobilization & Demobilization Costs...... 121 Overhead, Indirect, & Profit Costs....... 121 Brush Cutting Costs per Mile............. 122 Ballast Regulator...........................