Need some driveway advice plz! :)

[Stringer]

Hi i am aquiring my 1st piece of property, and it's a flag lot. The driveway is pretty long, just over 500 ft, (20 feet wide) and dirt. Im on a tight budget so asphalt or concrete is out of the question. I did however get a quote to limerock it 3.4 -4" thick for $4200. I was also thinking about just having it graded, and putting in a concrete apron. Im going to be fencing and gating it. I figured I'd squeeze a 16ft gate in there to avoid any future access problems. Where the gate would be doesn't look to be very level. I need to have this graded, right? This may sound retarded but if you could just share your opinions and nudge me in the right direction that would be super. Wanted to field fence it on the side without fence, and put a typical utility gate in, 16ft, from TSC. All on a budget. Got the land from bank (repo) for 12.5k and just want something level and decent. 100ft or so and beyond the gate seems pretty level i guess, but the sides are taller (opposite of crown). ok i hope this makes sense. thanks in advance.

 

[rekees4300]

At a minimum the center of the road needs to have a crown so that the water runs off to the sides into ditches. Otherwise based on that third picture you're going to be driving through a swamp. Not sure about the "concrete apron" but concrete is very expensive for sure.

 

[gauthier]

If its level enough to drive on,its level enough for a gate,one end might be up a little higher,but,unless you're keeping animals[small],it will work. Gravel it,depending on amount of gravel,it will be higher or much higher than drive now,just depends on how you gravel it,but an inch of gravel would be an inch higher than now,right? Might need a culvert at low spot or two.But,gravel is where you start.

 

[BruceWard]

That looks perfectly acceptable for a farm road. Why do you want to improve it?

What kind of traffic do you plan to have?

Adding a limestone cover will not stop grass and weeds from growing.

Where are you located? The type of material to use if often dependant on location.

 

[Stringer]

thanks guys.

yeh i am lacking a crown. though i dont know if its an issue or not. i have not seen it wet there yet.

i see now that is level enough for a gate. however, would it be expensive to level it out by the gate? or would the newly distributed soil just wash away? i would be happy in the end if the entrance was level before gating and fencing it.

it may be acceptable after all you think? normal driveway traffic, just wanted to be sure a semi can get in. I am in central florida. sorry for all the newbish questions and thanks for the help!

 

[crusty 1]

looks like it,s sand to me so I,d think any gravel or course material would be fine.:thumbsupave

 

[Ken45101]

Welcome to the board.

We don't know how you are going to use it, what the ground is like, nor the weather.

If you are going to fill at the gate, I'd use gravel, not dirt unless you have good clay and can really pack it solid (tracked vehicles work best at packing it down).

If you are down south and it's sandy soil that's different than being up north (freeze/thaw), clay or muddy topsoil.

What size crushed limestone are you planning on using?

Ken

 

[Egon]

That looks perfectly acceptable for a farm road. Why do you want to improve it?

Looks good to me too.

 

[MarkV]

Good old sand drive like that is common in Fla. The sand drains well enough that unless parts of the road are really low I would leave it. For sure wait until you can see what it does after some rain. Congratulations on the new land and welcome to the forum.

MarkV

 

[Stringer]

thanks all. im leaning towards skipping the limerock driveway. so im focusing now on just leveling off the entrance. as stated before, my drive starts at the fence to the left, and extends 20' to the right (to the middle of that little fence section with vertical boards). I plan to put in field fence,matching the existing fence on left. Then a 16' TSC gate with welded wire mesh in the middle. i was thinking using two 10" PT round posts to hang gate. what would be the best way to level this entrance area? i seriously have no idea. Its probably 9" or so taller on the left, and it would look real wonky when i stratch a gate across almost the entire width. I didnt want to pay to have it filled with soil, only to have it wash away. Im not sure what to do or who to approach. There is a place a quarter mile away advertising tractor work (i dont have one). Im in central florida. What should my next step be to level/fill this area and have it withstand the test of time?