Design Standards for Local Roads

Any modern public road in Maine should be built to certain minimum standards that consider the traffic volume, type and size of This is a picture of a road vehicles, presence of pedestrians or bicycles, and overall safety to all road users.

For Subdivisions roads:
The Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission (SMRPC) developed a set of “Model Subdivision Regulations” in the 90’s and they were updated in 2007. They are primarily for subdivision design and review and can be found here:
http://www.smrpc.org/landuse/subord/subord.htm
For low volume local roads:
AASHTO has a manual entitled “Guidelines for Geometric Design of Very Low-Volume Local Roads (ADT ≤ 400), 1st Edition” . This very handy manual references recommended ranges of values for dimensions such as road widths, horizontal and vertical alignments, sight distances, etc. The manual can be found here and costs $60, however, the Center has a copy if you ever wanted to review it first or needed specific information:
https://bookstore.transportation.org/Item_details.aspx?id=157

The Center has also developed a road “cross section” that graphically shows the “desirable minimum dimensions” of a low volume local road.

Desirable Minimum Dimensions (PDF)

This page last updated on 1/10/13

maine local roads center

Design Standards for Local Roads