Neighbor's Road.

[sanmigmike]

Have a young couple for neighbors and they are trying to get their drive in a bit better shape. It it on an easement, goes down from their house toward the west, turns 90 degrees to the south and goes on down to the paved road. The previous owners didn't take care of it in recent years. The drive has few issues. The area right before the paved road gets wet in winter and stays wet. Last winter he put a couple of loads of gravel there and they just sunk into the mud fairly quickly. He does have a culvert under his drive and there is a culvert under the paved main road but where his drive hits the paved road is a low spot for him and his neighbors on both sides, all the runoff heads there, then east by the paved road and then hits a culvert and runs under the paved road.

Playing with a box scraper for a bit I found a lot of gravel at the low point of the drive mixed in with the dirt, just like he said, a lot there, sunk in. Higher on the drive, close to where there is a 90 degree turn you could see where water had carved a little gully in part of the road, guided by large (head sized) rocks in the drive.

I think that he needs to get something down on the low area, old carpet or road fabric to stop or slow the gravel sinking into the ground when it gets wet. Also he needs to do something to keep the water from running down the road and get it off to the side.

Since I am no expert and open to suggestions on how to help him....help! Money is indeed an object here, or at least part of the problem.

Tried to post some pictures but everything I have seems to be too big.

[mj1angier]

Here is a site that might help. A Landowner's Guide to Building Forest Access Roads - Introduction

I agree that it will need some fiber barrier under the gravel to keep it from sinking.

[EddieWalker]

I you use gravel with angular edges and multiple sizes from fines to severel inches, it will not sink into the ground. It needs to be at least four inches thick, but when compacted together, it will form a solid mass.

Most gravel issues on roads are from it not being thick enough. From what you've written, that's what it sounds like.

Along the edges where the water is eroding into the road, sacks of concrete are very good at stopping this for little money. I use 40 lb sacks as there is no advantage to wider sacks. Put them down like bricks overlaping each other and then shove a pieces of rebar through all the sacks to interlock them together.

Eddie

[Renze]

perhaps you have some rocks to get rid off: the bigger the size, the better the base. Then fill in with smaller size gravel and water it in with a hose, to wash particles in every void. Then, as eddie says, cover it with a road deck of mixed size gravel to get a hard surface.

[gcp]

Excellent suggestions that I will also put to good use, thank you for your tips guys!!

[dtd24]

Fiber mesh for sure. After seeing the stuff in person I wouldn't consider building a driveway without it.

[dtd24]

OOOOppps, forgot the best part. I just bought almost an entire 12'-6" wide roll for $80. Not to rub it in but it goes for $350 for a 12'-6" x 432' roll. I would say mine is probably 300' or so.