A road over swamp?

[Don87]

If you have trees growing on it.....then it doent seem like it's "swamp" land to me. ??

Big difference in soil stability if your land supports tree growth IMO.

Oooops.....re-read your post. Nevermind

I'm glad you restated what you said.................

Wetlands are protected, I don't agree with the classifications, but they are protected..........proceed cautiously.

 

[crazyal]

Wondering how the OP's concrete filled tire road built through a marshland is holding up 10 years later. I wager it's resting underneath 6 feet of mud.

Considering the fact that his last post was over 6 years ago.............I doubt we will ever know.

Maybe he got stuck on his road and hasn't been seen from since. :laughing:

 

[JHTFarmer]

He built his road on the swamp and was never heard from again?? Probably too late to send out a rescue team..... Poor guy.

The Take home message from this misadventure is that it may be ok to build a concrete filled floating tire road in the swamp. just make sure you have somebody there the first time you use it.

 

[impdaddy]

Gotta jump in here. If it is a wetland, the Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction under the 404 permit program. We do this permitting for clients all the time. But the easiest way is to ask for COE input before you do it. True that many ppl have had to remove what has been placed as well as pay a fine. In my experience, this is one of the few instances where 'it is easier to ask forgiveness, than permission' DOES NOT apply. My 2 cents.:thumbsup:

btw it is not an impossible process since there are ag exemptions and nationwide general permits that are easier to grant by the COE. and they do welcome ppl asking first. (generally)

 

[Yaouk1961]

Maybe he got stuck on his road and hasn't been seen from since. :laughing:

You can know after all. Its been a long time between drinks but I finally ckecked back with this Forum.
The crossing was one of the few things I have done that has actually worked well after 13 years. It took 2 ton cars easily and the occassional concrete truck. Over time some tyres did pop up - but I simply removed them and filled in the hole. Also as the base was not level or consistent some tyres would be pushed down and require more fill over the top. On average i would place a layer of gravel (about 75mm or 3 inches) over the top each year and that is the extent of the maintence - apart from mowing as the grass grew through the gravel.

In retrospect I would do some things differently. I used rather small gravel at about 20-25mm. This is fine for a top coating and for lighter vehicles but for a solid base you need much larger stuff - at leat 100mm or 4 inches. I am in the process of upgrading the road to morer safely take trucks 15-20ton. For this I am simply using a larger size gravel. It will never be strong enough for regular use of big trucks.

Take home messages:
Its a lot of work to bolt those tyres together!
Use gravel at least 75mm in size for a base.
The road will always be 4x4 only as wheel spin does cause holes.

Oh and for the record: Only one person was ever stuck. My neighbour drove his 2-wheel drive truck over the edge one day to avoid a floating log during a flood.

Hope people find this entertaining after all these years.
George

 

[lesleyjeanie]

I am looking to build the same type of road over a jungle swamp. How did you bolt the tires together? And how is the road holding up now? Any other ideas?

 

[Soundguy]

i built a road over what was essentially a swamp in putnam county after the hurricanes in 04/06 for a fema contract.

we ended up stabilizing, in place with soil cement, and then went black base.

thik stabilized subgrade and then thick base course, then surface course.

it passed it's 2 year warranty period in 2008 and is still in use. 2' past the 2-3' stabilized shoulder is wet ground..

 

[lesleyjeanie]

I am building the road in a developing country in a hinterland area. Money is tight and that's why this tire road sounded so appealing. Also, the fact that it could help clean up the country. I'm also not tOo familiar with building roads, this is a learning experience for me. The biggest load that will go over the road will be a tractor with a lumber load. The area is swampy with lots of trees but the water does not run, it just rises and falls depending on the amount of rain (it would be considered rainforest).

 

[Soundguy]

how long a stretch thru the wet area?

 

[Soundguy]

might read this.. and look at army eng corps.

A Landowner's Guide to Building Forest Access Roads - Introduction

this too:

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/transport/how.html