BMP-compliant haul roads, landings, stream crossings, and permanent forest access roads for timber harvests. Temporary and permanent construction, decommissioning, DEC Article 15 coordination. $20K minimum.
DEC Region 7 covers more than one million acres of commercial forestland across Central New York, and nearly every active timber harvest needs vehicle access built before a single log gets cut. A log truck loaded with hardwood runs 80,000 pounds or more. It cannot drive up a skid trail, a two-track, or a farm lane. It needs a haul road that is wide enough, graded correctly, drained properly, and built on a base that will not turn into a trench after three rainstorms.
Backwell builds those roads. We work with timber companies, industrial forestland managers, private woodlot owners, hunting clubs, and logging contractors across Onondaga, Madison, Oswego, Cayuga, Cortland, Chenango, and Oneida counties. Projects range from a half-mile temporary haul road serving a 200-acre harvest block to multi-mile permanent forest road networks with engineered stream crossings and year-round all-season access. Minimum project $20,000.
Our standard forest haul roads run 18 to 22 feet wide, built to handle tandem-axle and tri-axle log trucks. Construction includes clearing and grubbing the running surface, stripping organic material, placing a geotextile separation fabric over wet subgrades, and building up with crushed stone or bank-run gravel sized to the soil conditions. Road grades held below 10% where possible, with steeper pitches reinforced and broken up with water bars.
A landing is the staging area where cut timber is bucked, sorted, loaded, and trucked out. A properly built landing saves an operator hours of wasted skidder time on every harvest. We clear and level landings sized to the operation , typically half-acre to two acres , with drainage graded away from the working surface and stockpile areas separated from truck turnaround zones.
Streams cannot be forded. DEC requires engineered crossings wherever a haul road meets a protected waterway. We install temporary bridge mats, portable steel bridges, and properly sized culverts that pass the expected flow, maintain fish passage, and come back out when the harvest is done. For protected trout streams and Class C(T) and higher waters, crossings are designed to DEC fish-compliant standards.
Private forestland owners who manage their land on a 20- or 30-year rotation often want permanent access , for recreation, fire response, future harvests, and property management. We build these to a higher standard: deeper base, crowned surface, ditched both sides, engineered culverts at every drainage, and a running surface that can take a pickup in March and a log truck in September.
Silt fence, check dams, straw wattles, turbidity curtains at stream crossings, and stabilized construction entrances are installed before the first load moves. We monitor and maintain controls through the life of the harvest.
Temporary roads get pulled out when the job is done. Decommissioning includes removing culverts and crossings, re-contouring the roadbed, installing water bars at final grades, seeding with a DEC-approved conservation mix, and mulching. Done right, a decommissioned haul road disappears into the forest within two growing seasons.
Every road we build follows the New York State Timber Harvesting Best Management Practices and DEC's Forest BMPs for Water Quality. These are not optional. They are the standard of care that protects a landowner and a logging contractor from Clean Water Act violations, DEC enforcement, and downstream liability.
| Scope | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Temporary haul road (per LF) | $15 – $35/LF |
| Permanent all-season forest road (per LF) | $45 – $90/LF |
| Landing construction (1/2 to 2 acres) | $8,000 – $40,000 |
| Temporary stream crossing (fish-compliant) | $12,000 – $60,000 |
| Engineered permanent crossing (bridge or large culvert) | $35,000 – $150,000 |
| Erosion control package (per mile of road) | $6,000 – $18,000 |
| Road decommissioning (per mile) | $8,000 – $25,000 |
| Multi-mile forest road project (full scope) | $75,000 – $400,000+ |
Final pricing depends on soil conditions, haul distance for stone, number of crossings, grade, clearing width, and access to the project area. Every quote is based on a walked site visit.
If the road stays entirely on your land, does not cross a protected stream, does not touch a regulated wetland, and disturbs less than one acre, you generally do not need a DEC permit. The moment any of those conditions change , a culvert in a trout stream, a crossing through a DEC-mapped wetland, or a disturbance over one acre , permits are required.
BMP compliance means the road is designed, built, and maintained to the standards in the NY State Timber Harvesting Best Management Practices manual. On the ground: grades held under 10% where possible, water bars at proper intervals, outsloped ditching, stream buffers respected, crossings sized for expected flows, revegetation at project close. Compliance protects the landowner from Clean Water Act liability and protects the contractor from DEC enforcement action.
Temporary crossings are designed to come out. Portable steel bridges, timber mats, or properly sized temporary culverts that can be removed at harvest close without leaving behind fill, armor, or disturbed bed material. Permanent crossings use sized culverts set to the 50-year storm event, or for larger spans, a permanent bridge. Permanent crossings require more engineering, more permit review, and cost 3-5x what a comparable temporary crossing costs.
Decommissioning is the tear-out. We pull temporary culverts and crossings, re-contour the roadbed so it drains naturally, install final water bars, seed with a conservation mix, and mulch. Done right, the road blends back into the forest within two growing seasons. Skipping it leaves abandoned crossings that fail, culverts that plug and blow out, and a road surface that channels water and erodes for decades.
Mobilization depends on season, ground conditions, and whether permits are in hand. For projects with permits ready and a walked site, we typically mobilize within two to four weeks. For winter harvests where frozen ground is the access window, we schedule well in advance.
Call (315) 400-2654. Reviews.
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