grading roadway and choosing right gravel

[2nu2no]

Hi. I've got a deeded right of way roadway (about half a mile long) which winds up a mountain to my house in VA. I've had it gravelled twice in four years but after major rains, parts of it get terrible. In particular the bottom 300 feet are down to huge ruts and rocks and small cars can't use it. There isn't much room for side ditches and I finally bought a Deere 4310 w fel, bush hog, landscape rake and a rear blade. The trouble is that I wasn't even around when the roadwork was done and have no real idea of how to go about repairing the 300 feet. The gravel quarries recommend crush and run , but that's what was used the first two times. Any ideas. One person said #57 might work, but the quarry lady said that it would just roll down. Any and all advice is welcome. HB

 

[_RaT_]

You have to get the water off the road. Ditches and culverts are the only way to give a hilly road a fighting chance if it's not paved. We have a quarry near me that sells a crushed rock/limestone mix. Our neighbors have it on their driveway which is a couple hundred feet long and it holds up better then any driveway on a hill short of a paved surface.

 

[sassafraspete]

I am with RaT on this one. I have a hilly drive, and here in Indiana we use crushed limestone, with a mixture of dust. On a hill, the dust will hold the gravel in place, and will pack down. You can get different size stone with the dust...I like the larger stone better as I believe it stays in place better. But like RaT said, the drainage is the most important thing...eg side ditches and culverts if you have to divert the water across the road. Once you get it back into shape, if you keep it maintained on a regular basis with your tractor, you can help control the damage that comes over time with neglect. One of my biggest problems is that I have a lot of hardwood trees that dump a ton of leaves in the fall, and the wind seems to blow them to the lowest spot which happens to be my ditch. In a hard rain the water pushes the leaves into a big pile and it eventually becomes a dam...and starts diverting water across my drive which ends up cutting a rut. If I keep the leaves cleaned out, I do OK. If I neglect that, then I end up collecting my stone at the bottom of my hill and bringing it back to my drive.

sassafraspete

 

[beenthere]

Along with what the others say, keep a good crown in the drive so the water will immediately run off to the sides and into the ditches (yep, you have to have ditches!!). As well, going out when it is raining to do some "water patrol" work is a good way to see first-hand where the water is running, and helping re-route it, if it gets off course.

When working on the surface of the gravel drive, always cut into the gravel to keep the fines mixed in with the larger stone. After leveling it off, always pack it down (I used the car or truck) BEFORE the surface dries. This will pack the fines in and give you a good surface. Avoid sctatching around on the surface to just make 'marbles' that will not stay in place and will roll around when you drive on it. Same with ripples or washboard. Cut under the ruts to smooth and level, then pack it down right away. Always work the gravel drive when there is plenty of moisture in it, and not when it is bone dry.

 

[dmccarty]

2nu2no,

Get the water off the road. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I used what is called ABC here in NC. Some people call it crush and run but I dont' know if the two are really the same. You don't want just gravel. You need gravel and fines. Its the fines that locks everything togather. Ask the quarry what state/county uses for road base or for dirt roads.

You also might consider geotextile fabric. I don't know if it would help in your situation but I put it down under my driveway. I have a pretty steep driveway in places and with all of the traffic from the house constructions the drivew is not like it used to be. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif BUT it is not rutted up. When Charley and Bonnie past through a few weeks ago my driveway was fine. My neighbors has some serious water damage. I have not seen that damage on his driveway before. But mine was fine. Gaston is flooding us today and it will be interesting to see what is happening.

Later,
Dan

 

[meledward23]

Check out this article. It will tell you alot of what you have just heard. But it also gives some detail on methods of doing things such as keeping a crown.

http://www.ruralhometech.com/fr/ditch.php

 

[coobie]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Hi. I've got a deeded right of way roadway (about half a mile long) which winds up a mountain to my house in VA. I've had it gravelled twice in four years but after major rains, parts of it get terrible. In particular the bottom 300 feet are down to huge ruts and rocks and small cars can't use it. There isn't much room for side ditches and I finally bought a Deere 4310 w fel, bush hog, landscape rake and a rear blade. The trouble is that I wasn't even around when the roadwork was done and have no real idea of how to go about repairing the 300 feet. The gravel quarries recommend crush and run , but that's what was used the first two times. Any ideas. One person said #57 might work, but the quarry lady said that it would just roll down. Any and all advice is welcome. HB )</font>I used a product called SLAG.it comes out of the steel plants here in s.michigan.Great stuff.I had mine put on about 6-8 inches thick.Its been in place for about 10 years.No problems yet.I work for the local power company,and have to take my bucket truck home quite a bit.Even the weight of the truck does.nt seem to affect the slag.coobie /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif