Maintaining a STEEP driveway

[Anonymous Poster]

I would also humbly suggest contacting a contractor that builds roads. Maintaining a correctly constructed road is one thing, building one or "correctly reconstructing" one is another. Sometimes you can have someone come in and "fix" something but if they don't really understand the correct way to do it the guy you eventually hire to do it right may have a much more expensive job at hand because dirt has been pushed in the wrong place (over the side). I love to blaze trails but those steeper driveways I'd leave to a professional. And that idea for the concrete sure makes sense. You don't have to do the whole thing, just those areas (steep switchbacks for instance) where there's obviously going to be a problem.

I've seen a number of washout problems the last few years with the constant repetition of "100 year rainstorms". Sometimes a driveway is built on an old quick and easy logging road, that had no thoughts or care as to long term use. Would cutting a new more gradual one make sense? Is there a neighbor with a similar problem that could share the cost?

Of course the comment about neighbors brings a whole new can of worms with easements, (which are between property not owners) neighbors who don't help maintain the easement etc.

The road to my other "wild" property has a road that every onechips in on to maintain, voluntarily. Sure improves your outlook when neighbors are nice.

[_RaT_]

The driveway up to my sisters place is all asphalt and approches 30% grade along its 3/4 mile stretch. It has held up beautifully except where the semi-trucks (they deliver top soil,bark,DG,gravel etc.)stop and wait for the gate to open. At this point, they have sunk and pulled some of the asphalt loose. We plan on putting concrete there. They receive about 45" of rain from November to May. A gravel road would have been impossible to maintain. If your going to continue with gravel, reconstruct a road with considerably less pitch. Rat...

[TomG]

I think Murf posts on CTB rather than here. There was a long discussion among Murf and others about building a path on a steep slope. I not sure if the path was intended for vehicles, but might be worthwhile to look up the thread in the archives.