de-rutting a grass/dirt road

[runnyrunnerton]

I live in N. Florida in a 5 acre min subdivision platted in the 70's. The road in was graded and grassed long ago and according to the local water management district we cannot pave (not that i could get other homeowners to chip in) or put down any impermeable surface. Millings, Lime rock, Paving etc. We can do gravel. My drive is 1 mile long, over the years neighbors have added patches of rock in bad spots, some used to drag the road, but most maintenance has stopped. The road has deteriorated to grassy moguls approximately 6" around and 2-5" high, as well as the occasional wagon rut in bad spots. Its pretty rough to drive on. I want to smooth it out, but haven't heard a convincing argument/plan. Id like to hear what others have done.

I am also here because crushed concrete is $450 per load, 1 load goes approximately 121 feet, and I need 43 loads equaling right under $20K. This is not an option. Even half that is not easy to pull off. My plan is to add crush crete to bad spots yearly and eventually build out the road, hopefully guilting a few neighbors into it as I go.

The road is 20' wide with good ditches on either side. The crown is gone. The soil is you typical north Florida sand with a little clay and organics here and there. I have seen these driveways in much better shape than mine. The whole thing is covered in Bahia and some Bermuda.

scenario one. Get fill dirt and grade the road flat in bad spots and roll. I briefly worked for a green builder in my youth and he sanded greens to get them flat, same principle, brushing in good fill to cover the voids. try and rebuild the crown.

scenario two. disk as lightly as possible, regrade crown and roll compact. I know I don't want to disk deeply to avoid screwing up the existing compaction and killing all the grass holding the road together. This is more invasive but might be better to straighten out the road.

Any input is appreciated. I considered purchasing a land plane to assist in maintenance but have heard mixed reviews with land planes on soil alone.

 

[jaxs]

I've had best results by not disturbing compacted roads and only"adding material"in low spots to bring them level with high spots. A dump trailer and a way of loading it with native soil,a box blade will do a good job of placing it in low spots. A roller would be nice but traffic will pack it pretty well if done in layers over a couple of months. Once the crown is restored,it will shed water and last a long time.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

If you add the dirt gradually, the existing grass should regrow up through it.

 

[Oldoak]

I've had best results by not disturbing compacted roads and only"adding material"in low spots to bring them level with high spots. A dump trailer and a way of loading it with native soil,a box blade will do a good job of placing it in low spots. A roller would be nice but traffic will pack it pretty well if done in layers over a couple of months. Once the crown is restored,it will shed water and last a long time.

:thumbsup:

 

[TheMan419]

What are the terms of the road? I am assuming this is a private road where you all have an easement or right of way? Depending on how those documents are written you may well have some leverage or ability to get the property owners to cough up some cash to help.

As for the mechanics of fixing the road ideally you would add material gradually to let the grass continue to grow through it for erosion control since you are not going to make it a gravel road.

 

[oosik]

My gravel driveway is a mile long. Its at the point now that the crown is a nice straight row of green grass right down the center. The actual driven tracks have no grass but grass grows nicely on both sides. I do not grade, rip nor disk it - the grass is integral to the quality of the road. I simply agitate low areas with my scarifiers and add gravel as needed.

 

[/pine]

My experience in most FL earth is that it does not take long for anything with a denser specific gravity to quickly sink down through the fine sandy soils...
Seen a lot of unpaved roads down there where traffic will just make ruts where the tires compress the gravel down and leave track ruts even with a base layer...

 

[Oldoak]

Seen a lot of unpaved roads down there where traffic will just make ruts where the tires compress the gravel down and leave track ruts even with a base layer...

No experience with soil in Florida, but hear in PA and SD, we use large stone for a heavy base layer covered with a layer of smaller gravel to make it drivable. A lot of people use too small of media and/or a base layer that is too thin.

To build a gravel road to last for years, we actually dig out the proposed road bed first and fill back in with stone the whole length of the road.

 

[/pine]

Just a couple of observations...

If you drop/lose a wrench here in N GA you will likely still find it even after a couple of years...drop the same wrench in a lot of places in FL and two years later the wrench will be completely buried...

Likewise...Take a shovel of earth and place it next to the divot and a year later there will still be a (slightly smaller) pile of earth and a (slightly shallower) divot...Do the same thing in a lot of places in FL and after a year you won't even be able to tell where the shovel of earth was dug up...

 

[majorwager]

Also no experience w/ N.Florida, nor desire any.

In this corner of the planet, A Geotextile fabric such as Mirafi 500 or equal is used as a first layer, prior to a limestone base. 35 years later, not a single depression in entire length of driveway. Truck traffic never restricted.