Dirt driveway building?

[Garrett2006]

Any good videos on cutting in or building a new dirt road/driveway with a boxblade & frontend loader?

 

[fried1765]

Any good videos on cutting in or building a new dirt road/driveway with a boxblade & frontend loader?

Depends on what type, and how much, "dirt" you are trying to move.
Best idea is usually hiring out the initial shaping work, and then using a rear blade or land plane for maintenance.

 

[Garrett2006]

Was wandering on the actual cutting the road in and shaping it after bushhogging and de rooting where the section of road is going to go. I have all the equipment/implements to do it. Just never really had to start one from nothing.

 

[nybirdman]

No reason you can't do it with a decent box blade.

 

[Thomas]

If good top soil pull or push to one side use later,just take your time until you get the feel of what you want.

 

[fried1765]

Was wandering on the actual cutting the road in and shaping it after bushhogging and de rooting where the section of road is going to go. I have all the equipment/implements to do it. Just never really had to start one from nothing.

What is your soil type?

 

[ruffdog]

When I had my drive done, the guy used a 6-way dozer to dig out about 18" of top soil. He then dumped in 4" crushed rock, rolled it, covered with 1" rock and rolled it.

 

[japody]

Lots of good videos on YouTube.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I have done this several times with just a tractor, but I have never gotten any videos of it.

The only thing I might add is a plow, just because it really helps loosen the soil, and doubles as a counterweight, but it is not really needed if you do not have one, or can borrow one.

For me, I staked out the width of my road, every one hundred feet, and then figured out the width of the ditches, and thus plowed the ditch areas on both sides of my proposed road. Then I used my front end loader, working sideways to the road, and scooped up the loosened soil, and dumped it where my road was going. I had to do this twice, as I wanted some deep ditches, and needed more soil in my road as sub-base. Then I graded off the dirt I had dumped into the road with my front end loader, and then used my grader (you would use your box blade) to smooth the sub-base material.

Doing this did two things. It helped for nice ditches on either side, but also built up my road by 18 inches or so. This allows water to drain out of the road, and in a road, drainage is everything.

I have my own gravel pit, so I hauled my own gravel. I used a 1 cubic yard dump trailer that I have. My wife drove her Ford Explorer, pulling the trailer, while I loaded it with my Kubota in the gravel pit. (I could have used the tractor to haul the trailer if I wanted to unhook, load the trailer with the Front end loader, and then hook up again to haul it). To help loosen the gravel prior to digging it out, I used the plow to loosen the soil. It took 350 cubic yards of gravel to surface the road, but by doing (10) trips per day, we had the task done in just over a month. (Some days we hauled more loads, and some days we hauled less).

But of course, you could always buy gravel by the truckload and spread it yourself if you do not have a gravel pit.

My road is on a 9% grade, so I had some additional things to do, like build a few rock check dams for erosion control, and put in four water bars to divert water off the roadway. I also call it a road because it was designed as a "heavy haul road" as the government calls it, and thus is designed for big rigs. logging trucks and lowbeds in my case. Yet I built it all with just my 25 Hp tractor, a dump trailer, a plow, and grader.

Since then, I also built a new driveway to a house I am fixing up, using the exact same techniques, but that was a much smaller project compared to the roadway.

Here is the muddy mess I started with, and then the roadway after it was done, all done with a 25 hp tractor and some implements,. Despite heavy truck traffic, it still has help up well even after three years, and is a true 4 season road.

 

[oosik]

When we moved down from Alaska I had hopes of building my mile long driveway myself. After I walked the section with a local contractor I realized it would never happen that way. He had several pieces of heavy equipment and had it built - working every day - in two weeks. It does have one hundred foot dusty section. Otherwise, its been good for 38+ years with normal maintenance. Normal maintenance I can do.

 

[gsganzer]

Based on your soil type, consider the need for soil stabilizing fabric under any gravel you put down. It's cheap insurance to help it stand up to wet conditions better. I'm on black clay and I'm putting it down under a new parking area.

 

[ovrszd]

This subject is very dependent on location and soil type. In discussions of this type that information should be in the initial request for advice. Along with pics if available and/or a good description of drainage issues. Until most of this information is known it's pretty hard to give useable advice.

My basis for these comments is that I run a road grader and maintain 50 miles of gravel roads. I've also built several miles of roadway. There's also a lot of valuable experience here on TBN to help you make the right choice for your conditions.

 

[fried1765]

This subject is very dependent on location and soil type. In discussions of this type that information should be in the initial request for advice. Along with pics if available and/or a good description of drainage issues. Until most of this information is known it's pretty hard to give useable advice.

My basis for these comments is that I run a road grader and maintain 50 miles of gravel roads. I've also built several miles of roadway. There's also a lot of valuable experience here on TBN to help you make the right choice for your conditions.

Good information!
One of my degrees is in Civil/Highway Eng.
For your driveway, I would suggest on site advice, from a seasoned professional (such as ovrszd) in your area.

 

[atsah]

A grader operator knows the score on a non paved roadway, we have many here and they know what there doing with dirt roads.. And they know how to push frozen banks back just as well..

 

[airbiscuit]

A grader operator knows the score on a non paved roadway, we have many here and they know what there doing with dirt roads.. And they know how to push frozen banks back just as well..

:drink:

If you are going to have to dig into sod and roots, you might want to get a tooth bar for your loader. It makes a big difference in being able to penetrate that, and helps tear it apart when back dragging. Why not just drive on the mowed surface? Would it be too slippery, or do you need to level a sidehill grade? No matter what, be sure it drains well. Having a crown, ditching or swales will help with durability and drivebility.

 

[ovrszd]

I've built several personal driveways with the grader too. My board promotes that in support of the taxpayers that make it possible.

Talk to your local guy.

 

[airbiscuit]

 

[airbiscuit]

 

[ruffdog]

 

[Drstrangeglove]

I built my drive with a Ford backhoe to haul base dirt in and dig stumps. I did the spreading with my 30hp tractor and box blade.

Now, I have a M5 and hydraulic grader blade to do maintenance.