A graded road is often the first standard road infrastructure that is developed in areas of sandy or rocky countries. Initially either a bulldozer

Bulldozer

A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...

 (for rocky areas) or plough

Plough

The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...

 (sandy areas) is deployed to drive a road bed surface along the available route. This route may be significantly influenced by the terrain

Terrain

Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...

 in hilly areas and is often single track.

In a sandy environment the plough will create a windrow

Windrow

A windrow is a row of cut hay or small grain crop. It is allowed to dry before being baled, combined, or rolled. For hay, the windrow is often formed by a hay rake, which rakes hay that has been cut by a mower machine or by scythe into a row, or it may naturally form as the hay is mowed...

 or pile of material at each side of the road. This windrow delineates the road from desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

. After substantial use or after heavy rain the surface may become rutted

Rut (roads)

A rut is a depression or groove worn into a road or path by the travel of wheels or skis. Ruts can be formed by wear, as from studded snow tires common in cold climate areas, or they can form through the deformation of the asphalt concrete pavement or subbase material...

 or eroded and it is a frequent necessity for a plough to re-grade the surface.

Graded roads can allow vehicle speeds in excess of 80 kilometres per hour (49.7 mph) but there are often many obstacles that make this unsafe. In dry areas a common problem with graded roads is the creation of a dust cloud by the vehicle in front or from the opposite direction.