This why here in Finland a lot of rural roads are being converted back to dirt. Basically keep the asphalt for as long as it can be with cheap repairs and once it needs to be redone just rip it off and put some gravel. Maintenance for these is cheap using existing infrastructure (trucks and loaders that the municipality already owns for winter/snow). Basically every spring just relevel it with a blade attached to a truck and add a bit of gravel.