Creek Crossing for Tractor

[Tom22]

Part of my property lies across a creek. Each time I need to bush hog across the creek, I have to make the 6 mile journey by highway and then get permission from a distant neighbor to drive my tractor through his property to get to the other side of the creek.

I'd like to be able to get my tractor across the creek directly. Building a bridge is not an option. The creek banks are very soft and are continually carved by the creek, with large chunks sometimes caving in. It would take a 35-foot span to allow for future "wandering of the creek -- and lots of $$ and equipment to handle large steel beams, footings, riprap, etc.

I'd like to be able to ford the creek with my tractor. Someone has already created "boat ramps" on each side of the creek, making it possible to drive down to the water and up the other side. The problem is that the "ramps" start getting soft about 6 feet before the creek bed, and of course, the creek bed is mushy.

I've been thinking about laying some #1 or #2 stone in the creek bed and along the "boat ramps" leading down to it. It would raise the level of the creek in that area a little, but it seems like it might work. An alternative might be to place a couple of culvert pipes in the creek and lay stone over and around them.

One final bit of information: the water in the creek is normally about two feet wide by 6 inches deep. After really heavy rains, however, it can overflow its banks -- which are 18 feet wide and 5 feet deep. I'm not sure how stone or culverts would fare under that kind of flow.

Does anyone have experience with something like this? Thanks in advance.

Tom
mail_for_tom22@yahoo.com

 

[Gatorboy]

You are probably looking to do something similar to this stream crossing.

On my stream, I just put down #2 stone. This was done 2 years ago, and most of the rock is still there. Some of it farther away from the stream bed has sunk down into the ground -- it's probably time for another load to be delivered.

 

[TBAR]

While your low water crossing idea sounds inexpensive, relatively easy and low cost it is going to wash out when you get heavy rains unless you concrete them in.

Many people here on the board have done some nice culverts. You just have to make sure they are large enough to handle the largest possibe run off.

I opted to build a bridge across my creek. Here are some pictues of my project.


PICTURES


TBAR

 

[BB_TX]

<font color="blue"> overflow its banks -- which are 18 feet wide and 5 feet deep </font>
With that kind of flow, I don't think anything will stay in place short of a concreted low water crossing or a bridge above the expected water level.

 

[rambler]

The government often wants to say a lot about water flow. If this is a dug ditch, you will get permits to cross it. If it is a natural stream, you could have some real issues if they discover you messing around with a natural stream bank - these days. Just how it is.

Raising the stream bed or installing culverts too small can have a real bad effect on neighbors upstream of you. My fields, for example, the water flows in reverse direction from the ditch through the tile & into my fields when the ditch gets real high. Anyone making that condition worse would need to answer to it.

All I'm saying is, look upstream & be real sure you don't affect your neighbors upstream, or you will have big financial issues.... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I think a rock bed in the much will work for you, but could cost a bit to get set up.

--->Paul

 

[bczoom]

Tom22

Welcome to TBN.

Do you have a camera whereby you can post a picture?
What are your creek banks and bed made out of? Sand, clay?

Based on your description, your creek is probably a little bigger than mine (pic attached). I have clay banks and lots of stone for the base so I'm not having the issues you're referring to for driving through but let me throw a couple things out.

For culverts, you're probably going to have problems. Here in PA, you're not even allowed to use them in a natural creek. If you do put them in, under a heavy flow they may either clog, forcing the water over the banks, or wash away all together.

I had a ramp going into mine (see next post) that had 1" stone going down the bank. It only took 1 good flow to wash it all away so I don't know if that'll work for you. (In the next picture look at the cloth to see where the stone was).

What Gatorboy did may be a very good option for you (and it's what I tried) but you mentioned 5' banks. Are they sloped or do you need the existing ramps to get through?

Besides just driving through it (weather permitting), I've realized that I don't have much of a choice other than to build a bridge out of 10" I-beams and decking (pretty much like what TBAR posted). I'm going to raise above the banks and set on concrete posts on both ends and one pair in the middle. The concrete posts will all be in double-wall 15" culvert pipe.

 

[bczoom]

Another pic - stones washed away (right side, where you see the cloth)

 

[Alan L.]

A couple of years ago I used the FEL to create a ramp on both sides of the creek, and put several bucket loads of 8" granite rock in the creek bed. Actually I put a couple of 6" PVC "culverts" down first, then put 3 or 4 sacks of sackrete over that, and added the big rock on top. Even after several big rains with overflows, the rocks are still in place. The only problem is the ramps get slick when wet, and so I plan to put gravel of some sort on them at some point.

 

[Dargo]

Whew! What a subject for me. I am in the process of concreting my entire driveway. What I have left is 891 feet and I'm going 6" deep with #6 gauge wire matting, 5000 psi concrete and 14' wide. If that isn't a big enough dent in the ole wallet, I have to replace a culvert I built 15 years ago over a creek to get to my property. I need a 35' span over a 10' deep creek!! Short of robbing a bank and hiring a contractor to build a bridge, anyone have any ideas? The bridge will have to be able to handle 80,000 pounds as well. Okay, all you smart guys, let me know my most cost effective way of doing this.
Somebody mentioned the government getting involved in an earlier post. Boy, do they ever! I was going to have two giant concrete box culverts put in with a crane. However, the box culverts would create an obstruction where they are butted together to get the width I need (basically they would have been 2 15' wide X 20' long culverts laid side by side). The center of the culverts could possibly catch a floating log etc. and cause an obstruction, bla, bla, bla.

To build the bridge, I'd have to have 6 40' long 12" tall 80lb per foot I beams sitting on giant footers (20' wide and 20' deep and 24" thick) on each side. Not counting the labor and the concrete for the surface, that is already quite pricey! Anybody have a spare bridge they want to get rid of? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

Tom I do alot of excavation work on the water and around streams. If it has a boat ramp on each side facing each other you could get some boat ramp mats. Thay look like long concrete parking space markers that are hooked together with rebar links and come in rolls. they can be ordered in ceratin widths but most common is 10 feet wide. You put them in place and roll them out. Sometimes if I need a 20 foot wide span Ill offset the mats and let them mesh together. And with them being flexable they follow the botom of the stream or river bank. I havent put any in lately I did make a few sets for my last river job last year. It wasnt too bad on the wallet but id have to have alot of them to do before i made another one. Ready mix places can make or order them for you. I usually take the my backhoes loader and unroll them but since I have the excavator it makes it easier to handle.