Good roads are essential in moving men and materials to and from the
underground workplace. Coffey Partners International Pty Ltd (Coffey)
has recently completed a underground coal industry funded project on
underground mine road construction and maintenance. This paper
discusses practical approaches to construction and maintenance of
underground mine roads using transferrable civil technologies and
innovative techniques. Mine pavements are generally low-cost (relative to civil roads),
constructed to varying standards using locally available materials to best
meet the mobility needs of the mine. Performance of pavements is thus
largely dependent on the environmental conditions, quality of the
available road making materials, maintenance policies and available
resources. The paper will detail `what causes bad roads?' in various underground
environments, available management strategies, construction and water
control techniques, road maintenance and vehicle considerations.