ABSTRACT
In addition to maintaining the roadway and shoulders, highway maintenance must face the problem of vegetation control on the roadside. For many years, this task was handled solely by mechnical means. The use of herbicides on roadways came into practice about 1950, the same time that they were put to use on utility railroad, pipeline, and firebreak rights-of-ways. Control of woody plants along railroad rights-of-way is very important and in the past has been a rather difficult and expensive part of a maintenance program. Dormant treatment of brush with brush killers has been more popular in some areas since it offers a high percentage of control. The application can be made in the time of the year when the susceptible crop is not growing. Since several railroads span most of the US, they have special problems for vegetation control of a widely varying nature. Firebreaks are a convenient method to limit fire spread in forests and on range land.
