Whoops!

[jenkinsph]

It would be best if you cut in your ditches and form the crown before the gravel is delivered. The spread of gravel will follow your profile for better or worse, so it is better to have it profiled well before the gravel comes. Cutting in the ditches will give you material to form the crown. Then, when the gravel comes and gets spread, it will be pretty much the same depth from, edge to edge and in the middle.

Ditches are your friend. I use sumps/swales where there is no downhill for me to send the the water to.

I agree with shaping the driveway first. Get it where it works with ditches, diversions and culverts. Crown the driveway then see how it does after a rain. Fix any further issues with drainage when this is done then call in the gravel trucks. I recommend you go the trouble to find out which driver is the best at tailgating/spreading the gravel. A good truck driver can save you a ton of work. Particularly if you have few implements.

 

[hslogger]

We all know how frustrating it can be. It wasn't clear to me what the BASE is. Often the il informed figure they can just dump some inch or so crushed rock with fines (1"minus), pack it down and be done with it. When building a road especially in damp areas, it needs have what we call 3-4" open down. It looks like big ol chunks. That gets packed down and then capped with the finer crushed rock. If it doesn't have a crown or out slope, it can be messy, but the big rock base should still hold it together. Ditch here and ditch there and a culvert or two. Doggone it, that is all really important to have or it kind of goes to pot on ya.

 

[redman135]

I think you will need to add some rock to your drive first, as it is the low point so water will continue to scour it out other wise. Here we call it rotten rock or "all in" ,roughly shape it ,put the ditches then when the track has settled add 3/4" or 1/2" top layer.
Very over looked point. PRUNE the TREES along the track so when the truck is spreading it doesn't get caught on the branches. A 16' deck = 16' pruned height.
Lastly what is a "french drain"? I have not heard that term before.

 

[Grandad4]

I'd agree with the other comments about grading and ditching but would add a couple of ideas. First, it's hard to judge from photos but it seems like your drive is generally pretty narrow for good ditching to the side. The ditches will have to be cut at a sharper angle, posing a greater hazard for getting stuck and leading to more erosison over time. Taking out some of the trees might give you more space to lay down a better drive.

Second, it's likewise hard to see from pictures what the topography really looks like, and knowing the slopes, elevations and particularly the natural drainage pattern is important in figuring out where ditches and swales might go and how to place any culverts. Do some measuring, get an idea of the slopes and sketch out a basic layout of what you're going to do before you tear into it. You probably remember the old line, "Prior proper planning prevents..... etc.

Just my thoughts. Best of luck with it!

 

[the old grind]

Another vote to crown first, then cap. (BTDT) Removing base to 'start over' can mean much more compaction required during settling. (a lot of driving if relying on 'tire tracks' alone for that.) I was lucky to be able to crown well enough to redirect/evaluate/control runoff and don't expect to have to move 'topping' around much to spread evenly. Even the best 'lay' from the most skilled trucker won't distribute fines the best. They tend to settle-out quickly where dumped, and blades will push the larger bits away from there more than provide a uniform 'spread'. (BTDT. too)

Gravel will never be easy to plow (snow) w/o disturbing the surface, esp if soft/thawed under a heavy snow. (BTDT, again yesterday) Helps to have a precise bucket-level indicator and an adjustable stop on the 3PH. Back blade to crown, but iffy control when moving snow. Box blade may make things easier once you've tried/compared the two choices. (YMMV)

btw, Every time I touch up the neighbor's d'way (Summer) a few more fist sized rocks have worked their way to the surface. (Well, at least I got him to stop dumping drywall scraps into the low spots. :irked IMO it's best to leave what's there and build on it, esp when it's apparent how much fill will be needed to raise/build the crown above ditches/drains. Good luck!

(Got a 'concrete calculator' slide rule thingie to estimate how much top gravel to order?)

 

[kevin37b]

What I am looking at needs to be a flowline starting at the neighbor along the black line a swale ditch . Keep the water where it wants to run . A road does not have to be crowned , leave one side high as you have . I could fix that in a day with a MINI and 3 ft bucket . enjoy your posts and humility !

 

[airbiscuit]

What I am looking at needs to be a flowline starting at the neighbor along the black line a swale ditch . Keep the water where it wants to run . A road does not have to be crowned , leave one side high as you have . I could fix that in a day with a MINI and 3 ft bucket . enjoy your posts and humility !

Most of my road is crowned. There are a couple of spots where the road slants one way (and the water runs across it) and it is not crowned there. No matter what, there is a (shallow) ditch or a swale everywhere so there is a place for the water to leave the road surface completely. It's not something that happened overnight.
I just kept making depressions for the water to drain - some nice and contoured, some just big ol holes. Got to be OCD about it - driving along in the middle of storms to see how the water flowed. Now the road stays in good shape with very little maintenance.

 

[jenkinsph]

Even the best 'lay' from the most skilled trucker won't distribute fines the best. They tend to settle-out quickly where dumped, and blades will push the larger bits away from there more than provide a uniform 'spread'. (BTDT. too)

I would agree that dry gravel will allow the fines to settle out very quickly. But damp material is not as hard to deal with and less trouble with the fines settling out quickly.

The OP has a small grader blade and a fel and con not add implements at this time. What would you propose as a better way to distribute the base course (3/4 to fines)?

 

[Gcorron]

Are they building any roads in your area? If so, find the super and see if you can beg, borrow, some of this:

Road Construction Geotextile Fabric - Buy Polypropylene Geotextile Fabric,Geotextile,Pp Geotextile Product on Alibaba.com

Where your water is running, cut out about 10-20 feet, down about a foot, lay a piece of the cloth down, put about 6" of #3 rip rap down, then cover it with your 21A, or #57 with fines as some say, even though that can be a lesser material. Good idea to work a piece of drainage pipe, the solid kind, not the corrugated, in there to give the water a path.

You can't afford a roll of that but we used to throw away small rolls all the time. That will be just about a permanent cure, unless you just have LOTS of water flowing, then you've got to get rid of that first.

If you have access, CTA would be the best top cover, it has 7% cementitious material in it and hardens like concrete. It does need to be rolled to work properly though.

I have operated lots of equipment, but that does not make me an operator. In 96 after about a 3' snow, I grabbed a road grader and was helping to clear roads. One of the real operators finally caught up with me and told me, in no uncertain terms, to get OFF the grader before I hurt someone else, the road, or myself!!! I was slightly insulted

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?? PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

George

 

[JRobyn]

Regarding tree trimming along your rural road/driveway - everywhere that it is feasible, cut down any and all trees along the sides, back at least 8-10ft or more. The main reason is to allow sunlight and airflow onto the roadbed to more quickly dry it. Other advantages are to not have something to run into with your vehicle or tractor should the road get slick, and to not have tree roots heaving up your nicely groomed surface (once you achieve that).