What is Shoulder Pulling?

Shoulder Pulling is part of Camrose County’s ongoing Road Maintenance Program and is used to restore and improve gravel roads.

Over time, traffic and weather push gravel off the road surface onto the shoulders and into the ditches. This causes roads to flatten, lose proper drainage, and become more difficult to maintain. Shoulder Pulling restores the road by bringing this material back onto the driving surface and reshaping the road to County standards.

What Does the Process Include?

The process typically includes:

• Ripping up the existing road surface so materials can properly bind together.
• Pulling material from the road shoulders and ditch areas back onto the road.
• Watering, levelling, and re-compacting the material to restore the proper crown and road width.
• Reshaping side slopes and improving ditch drainage.
• Applying surface gravel once the road structure is complete.

Why Shoulder Pulling is Important

Proper drainage is one of the most important parts of maintaining a good gravel road. Shoulder Pulling helps water run off the road surface, reducing potholes, soft spots, and long-term damage.

The process also:

• Reuses gravel that has been pushed off the road by traffic.
• Extends the life of the road at a fraction of the cost of full reconstruction.
• Reduces future maintenance requirements and gravel usage.
• Improves overall driving conditions.

Camrose County has been able to cut shoulder pulling costs by over 40% and reduce the time that roads were being worked on by 80% by hiring a private company that specialize in the service. This has increased the amount of roads that are shoulder pulled in a year at a lower cost to residents. It has also reduced the amount of time that roads are out of commission as the shoulder pulling time is much lower.