Compare types of gravel and alternatives for roadway repair

[newby in tenn]

my buddy wants to go fishing on Wednesday.

* * * * *

P.S. He has a boat.

Good luck on your fishing trip. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Cord]

Generally, the well built driveway is graded so water runs to the side of the drive and never crosses it. The surface has to be maintained so the water does not run parallel and for ruts.

For the driving surface, I use 3/4 to 1-1/4" road gravel, also known as "traffic bond". This is a crushed stone of the size listed with finer stone, sand a clay blended in to help lock the larger material. The larger the stone, better it will support a load and the less likely it will wash out. QUOTE]

Thanks for your help.

My situation is that I have a existing road (~12 years) A good bit has no ruts or potholes. The problems seem to be due to rapid rain run off and standing water in potholes.

The run off is down a 1/4 mile section and contains 2 ruts 2 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep running just off the crown of the road to the low side. I can only take the water off to one side so my thought is to be high on one side and drain to where I can take the water off. Dig up the ruts and ditch to the drainage area. Figure I will need to add rock to re-contour. Would this be finish stone. Would it need to be high "dust" crusher run or just washed stone?

For the potholes I will need to dig to the bottom and then build back to road surface. Then add finish stone to add depth to the road. Do the potholes need to be dry when worked?

I have read "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Should I leave the rest of the road alone or add stone? Is there. a way to tell the right answer.

If the road has a good base, then you can get by just top dressing it to fill the ruts and provide the needed cross slope. Based on the rut depth, I'd say the base is bad or non-existent. I'd suggest digging the ruts out, full driveway width and remove the poor material. Go down no more than 16", less if you hit good material. If it's clay or black dirt, put down a geofabric to keep the materials from pumping when wet. I'd use 3-4" breaker run for the base and then top dress. Yes, you can slope to one side, just make sure the water is controlled after it leaves the road. You can't just grade the road and ignore the ditch. The two elements must work together or you won't have satisfactory results. No, the pot holes do not need to be dry. However, the material will be deeper in the hole so it should be compacted and then regraded a second time. Ignoring this step will result in a rough surfaces as the material settles unevenly. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" does not apply to maintenance and roads do need to be maintained. Sounds like yours is past due.

 

[newby in tenn]

Having the gravel delivered and spreading it with the loader and box blade is just so much easier,

Don't think my back would take much of that spreading by hand. I plan to use my loader and box blade and grader blade. Thanks for the experience on the gravel size and fines.

 

[newby in tenn]

Thanks for your extensive comments - very helpful. I should note that this road is I a mobile home park and the mobile homes are not spaced well. But I can't shut down the road for any significant period. The ruts now are showing red clay at their lowest points. Each rut is just a few feet off a telephone/power pole. If that impacted the initial building of the road I am not sure. I would be concerned trying to go down 16 inches adjacent to the poles. Maybe I could load them up with large stone. Compact with the tractor as I fill them. Then top dress them. You are correct the repairs are over due.

 

[newby in tenn]

Gravel size may be determined by the largest screen it goes thru.

That is logical, but I was having a hard time with 57s. By way I found a lot on gage wheels and they sound good. For this go round I am thinking I will try using chain in place of a rigid top link. Thanks for all the help. Your experience is truly appreciated.

 

[PILOON]

having maintained 3 miles of shared roadway for some 12 years I can suggest that generally crushed run (sometimes called 0-3/4"s) is a very good finish product as long as the base is solid. Easy to grade and maintain.
Hills are a totally different story as washboard soon develops and if steep rain plays havoc.
For hills we found milled or re cycled asphalt about 4" or more to be an excellent solution.
Fact is that re cycled is less costly than crushed run in our area.

Te milled or re cycled re adheres under hot sun and will not wash out also less likely to 'washboard'.

 

[teg]

Piloon above, makes a very good statement... on a grade, re-cycled asphalt would be a good choice.

 

[newby in tenn]

For hills we found milled or re cycled asphalt about 4" or more to be an excellent solution.
Fact is that re cycled is less costly than crushed run in our area.

Te milled or re cycled re adheres under hot sun and will not wash out also less likely to 'washboard'.

Not good at estimating grade but my roads drop about 10 feet in about a quarter mile. Not very steep by my estimation. You say I would need about 4" of reclaimed asphalt or about 2" of 3/4 inch crusher run. Since the asphalt is about half the cost of the gravel the money is about the same. Would it be feasible to use one in some areas and the other in other areas. Also does the asphalt help build the road bed. Can you go back to gravel on top of the asphalt if that becomes desirable.

 

[PILOON]

Not good at estimating grade but my roads drop about 10 feet in about a quarter mile. Not very steep by my estimation. You say I would need about 4" of reclaimed asphalt or about 2" of 3/4 inch crusher run. Since the asphalt is about half the cost of the gravel the money is about the same. Would it be feasible to use one in some areas and the other in other areas. Also does the asphalt help build the road bed. Can you go back to gravel on top of the asphalt if that becomes desirable.

If your existing base is good then even 2" of recycled would be better than crushed for hills as the main advantage is that water does not wash the crushed and cause ruts.
For best results recycled wants the hot sun to make it re bind, also a roller compactor helps. One guy even used a rented vibrating plate to help compact with good results on a hilly section of his drive.
On my drive we used the last truck loaded to drive back and forth in an overlapping fashion as the means of compaction, and that was 18 years ago and it still is holding up.

 

[Egon]

Results with using reclaimed asphalt depend on the amount of asphalt that has been retained and the type of aggravate used for the original mix.