Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor

   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor #1  

Verticaltrx

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2009
Messages
1,908
Location
VA
Tractor
Kubota B3200/L2501/SVL65-2/U35-4, IH 454/656, Ford NAA, Case 1845C/480E/450C LGP
I often see a lot of questions on this forum about building small roads, trails, etc with a CUT so I thought I'd share my methods and pics. This first road is a connector from our main trail to another trail that goes around the top of the mountain. The original trail was steep and off-camber and wasn't suitable for anything but ATV's and tractors.

This is the site where the new road will go up and curve around to the right. The original trail is out of the picture, but off in the distance straight ahead:
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Starting to dig into the bank. I always start at a level spot and work my way forward, generally working up hill if possible. Cut a bit out of the uphill side, drop it in the lower side, compact as you go:
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Road starting to come along:
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More to come directly...
 

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   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor #2  
I like it:thumbsup:
James K0UA
 
   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Continuing the cut. I push/dig the trees out of the way as I come to them and continue working forward until I can push them off the side:

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Moving fill dirt to outer edge:

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Found some shale, it's tough to dig out but great for road building. Shale packed in with some clay makes for a good solid base:

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   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Came up to this pine right in the middle of my road, about 8" in diameter. A little digging and prying under the root ball and it gave up:

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   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Pushing some remaining trees out the top. When you have too many trees you do end up with a bit of a tangle, but with some pushing and a little chainsaw work all the trees are out of the way:

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View looking down from the existing trail at the top:

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New road, top section:

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From the bottom:

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Overall it took me about 2hrs to complete, however I do have a little finish work to do. I'll probably wait for it to settle for a while before doing any more on it. I've got numerous other trails and roads to build so I'll try to update this thread as I get more done. :thumbsup:
 

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   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor #6  
Great thread and pictures!

Some of the most fun I've had with my little BX23 has been trail building and eventually making them wide enough for my Suzuki Samurai to travel.

The tooth-bar and backhoe help a lot on the steep and rocky sections... most of my work is downhill.

The nice thing about a loader is being able to place material where it is needed.

All of the local quarries are no longer in business... too bad for me I didn't start ten years ago when the closest one was still in operation... inexpensive, native stone nearby... now it is a struggling new home development for 250 houses planned.

It's amazing what these little tractors can do.
 
   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor #7  
Nice!

What kind of trees are you working around besides the pine? Did you have much trouble getting through the roots?
 
   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor #8  
Great looking work and it looks like the hills are pretty steep too. I usually try to build new trails this time of year because the ground is soft.
 
   / Road Building with a Compact Utility Tractor
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks for the replies and compliments. I really enjoy seeing what I can do with a small machine, I've spent many hours running all sorts of heavy equipment(for my business) , but for my personal use I generally pick away at it with what I have on hand lol. To put it in perspective though, years ago roads were built with nothing more than horse drawn slip scoops and graders, so in comparison even a small tractor can do a lot.

Great looking work and it looks like the hills are pretty steep too. I usually try to build new trails this time of year because the ground is soft.

Yup, we've finally had the ground thaw out so the top soil is pretty moist, makes digging out those trees much easier. I started another section of road this evening that is much steeper, in fact the last section is so steep you can't drive across it with a tractor, I'll try to get some pics up in the next few days.

Nice!

What kind of trees are you working around besides the pine? Did you have much trouble getting through the roots?

Most of the saplings are maple, poplar, oak, locust etc. As for the roots, when you are cutting through the side of them like that they come out pretty easy, none of the roots sticking out of the bank slowed me down at all. Now when you have an entire tree you are trying to get out that is a bit different. Depending on the species getting it knocked over is only half the battle. Often it takes a lot more digging and prying to get the root ball free from the ground even after the tree is already pushed over.

Anyone else who is doing similar work feel free to post up pics and info, I enjoy reading about it as much as the next guy.
 
 
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