New Driveway issues

[jcummins]

Moved here 3 years ago...part of the house purchase on contract for deed was the owner was to put in a new gravel driveway about 1200 feet. It would connect to an existing blacktop drive of another 1000 feet or so to the house. Driveway is done, but not happy with the rock. It needs more fines etc. It does semi pack, but feel it's not good enough.....but semi ok. I intend to either buy or build a land planer to maintain the drive in a few months.

About halfway on the gravel there is a slight dip and a culvert, and I'm finding the steep part is wash boarding. You can see were wheels digging in getting up that steeper part. It actually isn't that steep, but apparently enough to cause this. I could not pinpoint exactly which vehicle is doing it....until now. Couple of days ago I had business in town for awhile and when I came back I noticed the wash boarding was worse. Asked the wife who came....UPS truck. They are heavy single axle, single wheel and they are the culprit. I really don't think the other cars/trucks are doing much. Since we buy online a lot, and UPS deliveries are pretty regular....can anybody suggest what I can do about this.

 

[Rustyiron]

Your best advice will come from someone local to you with knowledge of the local soils & material available along with their local names or #'s. I do know that no matter where you are a properly "crowned" & draining road/drive is necessary once you have the proper materials in place.
(but is sounds like your on the right track with more "fines" to lock everything in place)

 

[kenmac]

You can do what I did on the steep part of my gravel drive. I bought some cold patch from the local asphalt company and hand spread it in the problem area then packet it with my truck. It's been there about a year . I haven't had any more problems

 

[Industrial Toys]

I always wonder about washboarding on our (country) back roads.

Years ago, we had a family friend, a gravel and construction baron who always complained that the grader drivers were goin "**** bent for election" with their mould boards bouncing, creating this washboard effect.

I think he might have got that wrong. Other even more remote roads, I attributed this phenomena to cordaroy (sp?) construction, the laying of timber perpendicular to the road surface for support in spongie conditions, but maybe it's all the same effect.

I tend to think it's about the resonance of vehicle suspensions, between springs, shocks, vehicle mass and speed, but I am surprised that this could create the results seen.

Sure do wish this spell check would work without some crazy (HUGE) download!

 

[jcummins]

UPS drivers always in a hurry. They got deliveries to make. Pretty sure they come over the drive faster than everybody else and given that extra speef with that type of vechile...wash boarding.

 

[sandman2234]

Ship USPS, and call ups and tell them why. I had a ups driver who always blocked me in, and I asked him nicely 3 times not to. He came in one day, blocked me in, so I grabbed two company pickups and pulled them in front and in back of him. Then I went to lunch. Boss called while I was gone, asked me if I took the company truck keys with me, and how long before I was due back from lunch. He told me to take an extra half hour for lunch.
Davd from jax

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

You need to try to get a firm surface or someone will always be spinning and kicking out the gravel. After we got a pretty sold base with some 3/4" minus we put down some 1/4" minus. then rented a roller to pack it. It still took a few months and some rain but now it is pretty solid.

 

[Ken45101]

How thick is your base? How thick is your top layer? What size rock do you have down? What is your soil like?

I really doubt that a once a day UPS truck is the real source of the problem although he probably contributes to the result.

 

[adirondackmtnman]

Sounds like a water issue as stated before. If the pitch of the road allows the water to migrate to the side quickly, your fines get washed out, then the coarse aggregate follows it with vehicular traffic. The process gets repeated, and eventually your washboard will become either potholes, or ruts so deep that they're more than a nuisance. You could try to slow it down by introducing a new top layer of what we call 1's & dust, 3/4" minus elsewhere, rake in a little portland cement sprinkle on the surface, moistening, and then compacting, but you're talking about a non hard-surface road. It's likely to need a lot of surface work over it's lifespan. Keep in mind, the earlier you do upkeep on it, the easier and cheaper it'll be.

Sent from my LGL35G using TractorByNet

 

[MH8675309]

We have old Tamarack boards in an area of our road and it is called a corduroy road. There is enough gravel over it where you hardly ever see the boards though. One county over I have noticed that their roads get bumpy and washboardy in a hurry but it looks like they grade the roads flat. In our county they crown the road some so that water runs off instead of laying on the road and soaking in as much. Our roads stay pretty good most of the time too - even when big tractors and amish buggies using them often. Kenmacs advice about the cold patch is good. I've seen that work wonders before.