How can I build a road up this hill

[Seamonster124]

Hope I can post this here.....

I have one beautiful acre behind my house but it is elevated above the rest of my lot but about roughly 10 feet. I started building a ramp with fill dirt but thought maybe you guys would have better ideas. I just need to put my BX above this step, then I have an acre that is almost level!

Thank you as always!

 

[bcp]

A BX will climb that if it isn't slippery. But I would make a much longer ramp diagonally up the hill.

Bruce

 

[mred2]

Most roads are not built going straight up the mountain. Start and go at an angles. This makes the ramp longer and less angle. When doing any road, make sure the direction the water is going to run. Look to stop erosion before it starts.

 

[searcyfarms]

i agree an angle is better but takes more excavating and work due to the offset in side hill berm required. you may also have to put in a diagonal drain depending on the slop length to carry the water under/out of the road bed or alongside if you can engineer that during the construction.

The raised road bed is good however around here if you do it like that, ( i made that mistake ) the top soil will wash/sink and water runs down the tracks and washed the road out over and over and you have to keep rebuilding it, so i had to learn the get all the topsoil out of the way and then get to teh clay and build the raised road with it, then put 3 to 4 inch gravel on it to support weight and use the topsoil for dressing what you tore up getting the clay dug up. So many ways to do this depending on what you want to accomplish and get to in that one acre. if you only intend to take the tractor up there thats one thing but if you intend on using it for recreation and having a truck back there something more substantial will be required - like jeff said depends a lot on rainfall, grade, dirt, etc.....but just from the looks of your beautiful picture, its lush there, you had lots of loose pine needles to deal with too with love to float/wash and are not very stable - heck if its just the tractor going up/down i wouldnt get too carried away you will get a path beat/worn down eventually that will work/serve for the few times you will need to mow/manage the area

 

[Sysop]

Looks to me the best option is to take out those pine trees in the right side of the image. Then start where the camera is setting and move earth from the right/uphill side to the left/downhill side. Dig around and find any hidden rocks to place under the spoil at the left side to help hold the moved material in place.

I do agree with searcyfarms that you need to get that black topsoil and all the organic material moved before doing anything. It will not stay in place and will make a mess.

As far as erosion control, find someone with old leftover hay bales and stack around where you are working.

 

[MossRoad]

Hope I can post this here.....

I have one beautiful acre behind my house but it is elevated above the rest of my lot but about roughly 10 feet. I started building a ramp with fill dirt but thought maybe you guys would have better ideas. I just need to put my BX above this step, then I have an acre that is almost level!

Thank you as always!

What degree angle is/was the existing hill before your started, and what degree angle are you shooting for in that 10' rise?

 

[dodge man]

You can also cut into the hill side up near the top to make the angle less, and use that dirt to add to the ramp at the bottom.

 

[Citydude]

I would use Sysop's tactic. If you remove the brush down by the camera and if you can get up on top, start where you can see daylight on the left side of the picture working your way down.

 

[MossRoad]

You can also cut into the hill side up near the top to make the angle less, and use that dirt to add to the ramp at the bottom.

Or cut it even farther back and never disturb the base soil at all. No fill.

 

[RalphVa]

That's not much drop. Our back, roughly 7 acres out of the 8.5 we have, is 100 ft below with maybe 1/3 to half of the 7 acres being the slope. All of it is probably about the same slope as shown in your picture. I go straight down and straight up about 4 different spots. At some places, I've had to put in some 4x4s or similar crossways to the trail where there aren't enough tree roots and stuff to keep it from eroding. Has worked for 14 years. Early on, I had a Gravely. It's 2 wheels weren't enough for adequate traction. 4wd always up and down works.

Only one approach/path is too steep unless bone dry, and that's only the last approximately 30-50 feet of that approach.

A bit of gravel (1 inch round stuff roughly or Lowes' "drainage rock") goes a long way to enhancing traction and keeping down erosion.

Definitely ALWAYS keep it in 4wd. NEVER go downhill in 2wd.

Ralph