Grading How do you dig a driveway drainage ditch next to an earthen bank?

[jgoodma1]

I have an 800' long gravel driveway that hadn't been cleaned up in 6-7 years. I just bought a used little John Deere 670 that I intend to use solely for maintaining the driveway. I also have Kubota L48 TLB. The JD 670 is 18.5 hp and it came with a 4' grading blade on which I can change the angle by rotating the blade on a vertical axis and also angle the blade on a horizontal axis. It's 4WD and only has 400 hours on it and was maintained very well. I had never used a blade before but have been able to regrade the gravel and clean up the driveway pretty well. I'm also going to get a 5' rock rake and 4' planer/grader for touch up and to yard work.

So, please look at the 3 attached photos. One photo shows a trench already in place next to the short bank that is on one side of the driveway. That was there already. The other 2 photos show what the rest of the bank looks like where it meets the driveway. I have about 600' of driveway with that condition. While I have owned the property, I have had drainage issues at various places along the route, because there has been no drainage ditch to channel runoff on the side of the driveway with the bank. I want to dig a drainage ditch along the entire length of the earthen bank. Questions:

1. Can anyone make suggestions how I can dig that ditch with the the equipment that I have? The 4' blade is not long enough to extend beyond the width of the JD 670, so I can't rotate it vertically and dig a v-shaped trench, because it does not extend beyond the tires and would force the tractor be partially on the bank and partially on the driveway, and the bank is 2'-3'' high along much the driveway.

2. I was also thinking about rigging up a long ripping claw or bar that would bolt onto the side of the backhoe bucket of the Kubota, and would extend 12-18" below the bottom of the backhoe bucket, and then I could drag that along and sort of tear a trench into the ground. I'm just not sure if I can maneuver the bucket to proper position, because again, I can't straddle the ditch location, because the bank is too high.

3. I'm also going to have 3"-4" of crusher run brought in and tale-gated along the entire driveway, down the center of the driveway, to finish the cleanup. Should I maybe rely on the buildup of that gravel in the center of the driveway to create a 4" deep ditch between the new gravel and the earthen bank?

4. After creating the ditch....whichever way that is accomplished, I was thinking I should fill the ditch with class 0 or class 1 rip rap to prevent erosion and to prevent the ditch from clogging with leaves and sediment. Is that a good idea or should I so something else to keep the ditch from filling with debris?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[TerryR]

4. After creating the ditch....whichever way that is accomplished, I was thinking I should fill the ditch with class 0 or class 1 rip rap to prevent erosion and to prevent the ditch from clogging with leaves and sediment. Is that a good idea or should I so something else to keep the ditch from filling with debris?

In my experience adding rip rap, or anything else, to the ditch will ensure it will fill with leaves and make it difficult to clean. You will need to clear the leaves regularly (a backpack blower would work well in an area as clear as the photos) and clear gravel that gets thrown there by tires and other debris regularly with the blade.

 

[stuckmotor]

I think some back blades bolt onto the lifting/tilting mechanism and have holes on both sides of center so they can be offset. Hopefully your blade is one of those.

 

[jgoodma1]

I think some back blades bolt onto the lifting/tilting mechanism and have holes on both sides of center so they can be offset. Hopefully your blade is one of those.

Yeah, I saw those online, but mine doesn’t offset like that.....might need to sell it and get one of the types that does.

 

[jgoodma1]

In my experience adding rip rap, or anything else, to the ditch will ensure it will fill with leaves and make it difficult to clean. You will need to clear the leaves regularly (a backpack blower would work well in an area as clear as the photos) and clear gravel that gets thrown there by tires and other debris regularly with the blade.

 

[jaxs]

Unless the ditch carry's water to another location,digging it is a waste. It's better alowing water to cross road and drain away than have it stand in a ditch beside road. It's all about grade and slope of ground. In some cases,diverting water before it reaches drive is a solution.
As for your original question,have you tried cutting a ditch with the blade? If it actually cut's (which it won't on most soils) just beg,borrow,buy or steal a 6' or 7' blade to extend outside wheel,the additionaly weight will be a bonus.

 

[Diggin It]

Always hard to tell even from pictures without being there, but I might be inclined to use the BH perpendicular to the drive and dig back another foot or so into the embankment. Digging 600'+ at 2' increments might take awhile, but I guess it depends on what you want to accomplish.

That said, at least part of that bank doesn't look too high to straddle and dig with the BH. I'd try to get as much done as I could that way, then go perpendicular crosswise of the drive and go from there.

 

[jgoodma1]

Unless the ditch carry's water to another location,digging it is a waste. It's better alowing water to cross road and drain away than have it stand in a ditch beside road. It's all about grade and slope of ground. In some cases,diverting water before it reaches drive is a solution.
As for your original question,have you tried cutting a ditch with the blade? If it actually cut's (which it won't on most soils) just beg,borrow,buy or steal a 6' or 7' blade to extend outside wheel,the additionaly weight will be a bonus.

 

[jgoodma1]

Always hard to tell even from pictures without being there, but I might be inclined to use the BH perpendicular to the drive and dig back another foot or so into the embankment. Digging 600'+ at 2' increments might take awhile, but I guess it depends on what you want to accomplish.

That said, at least part of that bank doesn't look too high to straddle and dig with the BH. I'd try to get as much done as I could that way, then go perpendicular crosswise of the drive and go from there.

 

[jgoodma1]

Unless the ditch carry's water to another location,digging it is a waste. It's better alowing water to cross road and drain away than have it stand in a ditch beside road. It's all about grade and slope of ground. In some cases,diverting water before it reaches drive is a solution.
As for your original question,have you tried cutting a ditch with the blade? If it actually cut's (which it won't on most soils) just beg,borrow,buy or steal a 6' or 7' blade to extend outside wheel,the additionaly weight will be a bonus.

There is a place for the water to go. There are culverts under the driveway in the 2 lowest places at natural drainages through the woods, and the water would drain into a sort of natural catch-basin at each culvert before draining through the pipes under the driveway into drainages leading to a creek on our property. But your point about grade and slope makes me wonder if I maybe should not try to crown the driveway but rather pitch it slightly across the entire width to the side that does not have the bank, so water would just drain off that low side. That might be a lot easier to maintain too. Sorry, I’m a complete novice with this. Is there any problem with sloping a driveway across the entire width?