need help with access road across steep slope

[flingwing1969]

Is geogrid rated for uv exposure

Should be pretty resistant to UV - looks like HDPE with carbon black - I've had HDPE 1 1/4" pipe on top of the ground for a couple of decades and it is still pliable and not at all brittle.

 

[Sodo]

Everything gets covered with ivy, so I'm assuming it will be sheltered from UV.

I cut it with a battery-powered skilsaw.
Cutting it with shears it seems soft and pliable,
but with the saw it kinda 'shatters' and you can see the reinforcement fibers.

I'm four feet up now (sort of).
The first course I "wrapped." But this was difficult and could not get it 'tight' anyway.
I hope the ivy covers it ASAP. The next courses I just laid the geogrid on.

I might go one more course, then will start angling down on the upper roadway (the actual driveway).

 

[Sodo]

Pretty far along now. Here's a before/after.

I spread 5/8minus gravel on it.
Now just gotta make the parking pad at the end.
Now it's gonna be a lot easier to get concrete out to the end.:thumbsup:

I'm more than surprised it's been 5 weeks since I started (minus 18 days off to go camping in Utah....)

 

[MossRoad]

Looking good! :thumbsup:

 

[Sodo]

Thanks Moss!

Made this pic so in 20 years in case anyone asks "how come that little spur never slid down the hill?" (fingers crossed !)
Then (if I can find this pic) I can remember how it was built.:thumbsup:

Basically I cut a 6 foot shelf into the hill and built up with engineered roadway materials. It's an arranged slug of reinforced rubble that widens to about 9 feet up the slope. And 3-5 feet thick.

It's my own design, based on available materials. Not expensive, but it took some time.
I had to buy the geogrid but the rubble was "free." I put about 4 inches of dirt ontop of each course of rubble, then laid the geogrid on the dirt. Then next course of rubble directly on the geogrid- which is not the standard method. Normally geogrid is layered with soil ONLY and the ends are 'sealed' with a fabric so the dirt doesn't fall out, and other obvious reasons. No rubble of course. But this is NOT for 80,000lb truck-traffic, it's a dead-end driveway spur.

I plan to back-fill rubble against the (almost vertical) face of my buildup, then cover with dirt and let the ivy grow over it.

 

[MossRoad]

Where I grew up, my father built his own home. In our backyard, it overlooked a 90' escarpment down to an oxbow lake that used to be the river. In the 30's, the WPA cut the lake off from the main river channel and built a road across the open horseshoe end. We lived on the high bank of the old river. My father built steps down to the bottom of that escarpment, using pretty much the same techniques you used on your driveway spur, minus the geogrid... it just wasn't available or even known about back then. Anyhow, he would drive around town and pick up pieces of broken concrete sidewalk when they were being replaced. The rough broken edges look a lot like a natural stone material. He had to start from the top and work his way down, which isn't the best method for building stairs. So he did it in manageable, 20' sections or so. He'd cut the hill to the right, build a spur like you have, then work his way up. Then he'd make a switchback at the bottom of the spur, cut the hill to the left and repeat. There were 7-8 switchbacks and about 150 steps down to that lake.

The only problems were leaf litter and dirt that would come down the hill and cover the steps and landings each year. So it was a spring ritual for dad to hand me a pointed trowel and a bucket, and I'd have to scrape the dirt and dead leave, full of great worms for fishing, out of the corners and steps. It would take a day, but worth it. If you didn't keep up on it, the steps would be overrun with debris from above in just two years or so. We sold the house after he passed away around 1995. I go ice fishing at that lake every winter. There is almost no visible traces of those steps now. They are completely covered by forest floor debris.

So, from that experience, I'll ask you if you've made provisions to keep uphill debris from coming down onto your spur? Just watch it over time and keep a leaf blower handy and don't let anything build up on there and rot into soil or in a surprisingly short couple-three years, you'll lose a couple feet of area on the uphill side.

 

[deezler]

Nice job. But I am completely confused. You built a temporary "road" to access this area, just so that you build a much more difficult way to access said area down the steep slope? Why not access it from the easier way you originally had excavated?

 

[Sodo]

Nice job. But I am completely confused. You built a temporary "road" to access this area, just so that you build a much more difficult way to access said area down the steep slope? Why not access it from the easier way you originally had excavated?

I can see that..... My wife (and everyone else) was asking the same thing but they couldn't read my mind.

I plan to park a dump trailer and a car trailer there on the level (next to where the Jeep pickup is parked). I'd have to move trailers every time I want something in/out of my 'new parking spot'.

The new spur intersects the driveway directly and will remain clear and accessible at all times.

 

[GLyford]

Oh, I get it, this kind of gives you easier access to BOTH spots, rather than just as one long spot...

 

[dragoneggs]

Nicely done, Sodo. Nice to repurpose free rubble. I am guessing that in time that will be quite natural looking and attractive! :thumbsup:

 

[Sodo]

Now that I'm more comfortable with road-building on a steep slope, I decided to widen the parking area. Another developement was finding a v ery close (1/2 mile) source of free dirt AND free concrete rubble. I just show up with my dump trailer and they load me for free. They are happy for the free hauling.

Started the widening by digging another cut/fill shelf.

Placed bigger concrete chunks by mini-ex. And in-fill by hand. It took many days!

Continuing the layup with the geogrid reinforcement.

Setting a cornerstone

Pretty much done for sure this time! Much better!

 

[Sodo]

Couple more pics

Before. The tree (near the Willys) is gone. Note the bamboo behind the Willys. And note the two dark tree trunks above the rubble pile.

After. See the two tree dark trunks to the right of the bamboo. About 1/3 of the bamboo remains, it may grow back (quick?). But the bamboo's roots are buried about 3 feet below grade, not sure if it can survive like that.

I think I moved kind of a sh*load of material with that little tractor and sub-mini-excavator (3800lb) and dump trailer and hand. Many the blocks of rubble were hand-placed. Now I just wait for the Ivy to cover.

 

[jwalk2c]

Where I grew up, my father built his own home. In our backyard, it overlooked a 90' escarpment down to an oxbow lake that used to be the river. In the 30's, the WPA cut the lake off from the main river channel and built a road across the open horseshoe end. We lived on the high bank of the old river. My father built steps down to the bottom of that escarpment, using pretty much the same techniques you used on your driveway spur, minus the geogrid... it just wasn't available or even known about back then. Anyhow, he would drive around town and pick up pieces of broken concrete sidewalk when they were being replaced. The rough broken edges look a lot like a natural stone material. He had to start from the top and work his way down, which isn't the best method for building stairs. So he did it in manageable, 20' sections or so. He'd cut the hill to the right, build a spur like you have, then work his way up. Then he'd make a switchback at the bottom of the spur, cut the hill to the left and repeat. There were 7-8 switchbacks and about 150 steps down to that lake.

The only problems were leaf litter and dirt that would come down the hill and cover the steps and landings each year. So it was a spring ritual for dad to hand me a pointed trowel and a bucket, and I'd have to scrape the dirt and dead leave, full of great worms for fishing, out of the corners and steps. It would take a day, but worth it. If you didn't keep up on it, the steps would be overrun with debris from above in just two years or so. We sold the house after he passed away around 1995. I go ice fishing at that lake every winter. There is almost no visible traces of those steps now. They are completely covered by forest floor debris.

So, from that experience, I'll ask you if you've made provisions to keep uphill debris from coming down onto your spur? Just watch it over time and keep a leaf blower handy and don't let anything build up on there and rot into soil or in a surprisingly short couple-three years, you'll lose a couple feet of area on the uphill side.

I can also attest to the uphill debris problem, from a road bed I cut in a slope 30 yrs ago, which has a grade similar to OP. Leafs and debris cover almost 2 ft of the uphill side of road each year it seems. I use a trusty Wheel Horse with a front blade to clear some, but if I let the debris build up for several years , then I have to use a angle blade on my compact tractor, which pulls up rocks and dirt, basically re-crowning the road. I should as MossRoad suggested be more diligent with a leaf blower and rake.
I really enjoy this topic as I am faced with similar challenges of sloping land and need to improve/make new road to access bottom land. Thanks Johnny Walker

 

[dragoneggs]

Wow, Sodo! Quite a project. Looks good from here! :thumbsup:

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Nicely done... Don't you just love the mini x's.... Perfect for road building.

 

[MossRoad]

Very nice job on the project. Did you buy any ibuprofen? :laughing:

 

[Sodo]

Wow, Sodo! Quite a project. Looks good from here! :thumbsup:

Thanks. Good luck with yours (if you do it)!

Nicely done... Don't you just love the mini x's.... Perfect for road building.

It was perfect size for this jjob for many aspects. But whenever I had to push out a 5yd pile of rubble, it was too small, not enough power. But for the rest of its usage it's easy to store, easy to transport, didn't cost too much. Lots of good things about being small.

It was the perfect size for this task. Other times I reduced the track width. The KX41 has variable track width; it can narrow up to fit thru a 36" doorway. But pretty tippy when narrow.

Very nice job on the project. Did you buy any ibuprofen? :laughing:

I didn't use a single pill. I did carry some heavy chunks at times though and had to give myself a good talkin' to a couple times, "don't take chances!". No sore back, which is not really normal (for me). Normally heavy work hurts my back, but this wasn't a lot of bending over. I think "doing it right" not too fast, but built strength and made my back stronger.

 

[Sodo]

Update.

I am pretty far along on this.
It's much better than I ever imagined and I've learned how to build on a hillside.
I hope it works on one hand and have high confidence it will OTOH. I've done a lot of digging and I know what stays on this hillside (=what was there) and I know that digging stairsteps and filling with reinforced earth is bigtime stronger than it was.
I have to figure out the drainage, and it's winter now, a good time to observe.
And a good time to develop 20/20 hindsight.

Also extended it 40 feet longer and 3 feet wider than it was in the last pic, so there's a 30x15 level pad at the end.
Thats my car trailer sitting on the pad.
You see the bamboo in the middle of the pic? Same bamboo except its roots are buried 3-5 feet deep. Good thing its low growing bamboo it would be heck to dig out now.

I put in a drywell at the far end. Ready for if I ever put a shed, I already have a drywell for the roof water. Drywell has 3 yards of drain rock. Does anyone know how many "yds of rock" are necessary for a 12x20ft roof?

 

[MossRoad]

Looking very nice! :thumbsup:

And thanks for sharing the building techniques, too.