The Center for Dirt & Gravel Road Studies

Created in 2001, the Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies is contracted by the PA State Conservation Commission (SCC) to provide services to PA's Dirt and Gravel Road Maintenance Program. The center’s efforts on this front include:
- Development and delivery of Environmentally Sensitive Maintenance (ESM) training.
- Technical documentation of ESM practices.
- Educational efforts for conservation districts.
- Technical assistance on projects.
- Development and maintenance of a GIS System to track and map projects.
- Advising the SCC on program policies.

Currently, approximately half of the Center's funding comes through Pennsylvania's Dirt and Gravel Road Maintenance Program. The Center also partners with other agencies through grants to provide technical assistance and research including the PA Bureau of Forestry, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, the PA Department of Environmental Protection, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Great Lakes Commission, and others.

Download Brochure about the Center

Directions to the Center:

Click here for a printable map to the center.

- Take College Avenue exit off 322 State College by-pass
- Go west on Rt. 26, College Avenue (~ 1.5 miles)
- Take “Penn State University” exit on right to University Drive
- Take right heading north on University Drive
- Take right onto Hastings Road at next light.
- Turn left at the second driveway into large parking lot
- Research Unit D is a small two-story building located at the back, or north, end of the parking lot
- The Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies is located on the second floor.