Grading Gravel Road Maintenance

[ovrszd]

Still waiting on winter. It should be in the 40's today with some moisture but no snow. I'm holding off on changing to studs on the truck and chains on the tractor until we get some accumulation in the forecast.

We've had three small snows already, first was 28 October. Very unusual for us. Long term looks good for next two weeks.

 

[ovrszd]

I did notice that pretty quick. The biggest thing I seen about grading a dry road is all the fine dust blows away instead of locking in the rock. Our road has some hills, a low water crossing (that has a concrete pad), some areas just need more material. The asphalt grind made a good difference, but I also seen that I needed to make sure the bed was near form before, so I spent a few days getting a crown before the materials came.

Decided to reply after reading many of your posts, so thanks for the validation. It feels great to have made an accomplishment

You have the right mental approach. Moving a lot of material a few times a year does not work. Moving minimal material many, many times per year is the best approach.

And as you mentioned, different sections of the road have different requirements. I've graded my 50 miles of roads for 30 years. I know their personalities very well. They are never all ready to be worked at the same time. May find myself driving over a few miles of road to get to the one that's ready to grade.

Your neighbors are fortunate to have you!!!

Welcome to TBN!!!

 

[PILOON]

We maintained 3.5 miles of hilly gravel road for about 12 years.
Our tool was a 3 bladed drag that had the blades at different angles and we'd pull with an old jeep at slow speeds.
3 blades because 2 always established the level while the 3rd would cut or scalp the highs and angled so that the slicing action would move material sideways to fill the lows.
Different angles allowed 'sliced' material' to move from side to side and back again.
The last or 3 rd blade was relatively straight across the road bed as it acted as the 'finishing' blade.

Main problems were hills and the washboard always started wherever an automatic shifted and grew worst with time.
The trick was to use a lower gear and accelerate B4 the hill and not midway.

Later on we uses recycled asphalt (cheaper than crushed stone) and hot sun would re fuse the recycle which in turn would not wash out in heavy rains.

Now days the city uses a grader (but without any better results than our old DIY drag).
They also adopted the crushed/recycled asphalt approach for all our hills.

Oiling* for dust control has also helped bond the gravel road base.

*special environmental product based on wood resins

 

[ovrszd]

We maintained 3.5 miles of hilly gravel road for about 12 years.
Our tool was a 3 bladed drag that had the blades at different angles and we'd pull with an old jeep at slow speeds.
3 blades because 2 always established the level while the 3rd would cut or scalp the highs and angled so that the slicing action would move material sideways to fill the lows.
Different angles allowed 'sliced' material' to move from side to side and back again.
The last or 3 rd blade was relatively straight across the road bed as it acted as the 'finishing' blade.

Main problems were hills and the washboard always started wherever an automatic shifted and grew worst with time.
The trick was to use a lower gear and accelerate B4 the hill and not midway.

Later on we uses recycled asphalt (cheaper than crushed stone) and hot sun would re fuse the recycle which in turn would not wash out in heavy rains.

Now days the city uses a grader (but without any better results than our old DIY drag).
They also adopted the crushed/recycled asphalt approach for all our hills.

Oiling* for dust control has also helped bond the gravel road base.

*special environmental product based on wood resins

Three decades ago I built a drag using a chunk of truck frame and bolted bridge planks to it. Worked great since that was what I could afford.

The bold statement above exactly explains washboarding on a gravel road. And yes, you can truly see where the average vehicle shifts gears at. And no, the general public doesn't understand and won't adapt the habit described above.

 

[RustyA]

I help maintain our private road. We use crushed rock with rock dust binder. Spread gravel when it's wet using back blade. Compact by backdragging with bucket angled with increasing down pressure. Grade road when it rains and compact after grading back dragging with bucket. I find angled blade best for crowning and backdragging one side at a time firms up surface to encourage runoff and prevent potholes. In summer grade and recompact every 4-6 weeks after rain. I own a harbor freight compactor and use it in my driveway and parking area once per season. Makes very flat surface that keeps it's shape and sheds water. Have used it to help neighbors shape their driveways. Very little effort to push on level surfaces.

 

[Scrambler82]

I learned a lesson, you can't just fill trenched out roadway.
You need to open up the whole area and then level it out.
Unless you fill the trenched out area with crushed stone and topped with fill material.

Strats first, then raise the Strats and make both blades hit the ground together.

BUT... I am now using the Grader/Scraper, after each rain, I am removing about two inches of material off the road each time and hoping for approximately 12" total... then replace the removed materials with about 3" of base stone and 3" of 3/4+ stone. I may need a roller to pack, maybe a rental.

I have one rock in the way, if I hit it with the BH it doesn't move, I do have a smaller BH but I would think the rock should move some but it sounds solid... so I thinking bed rock.
It is now sticking out of the roadway approximately 2", we will have to see where that goes.

Thanks for the input to this thread, it is helping me out !

Ltr

 

[ovrszd]

I help maintain our private road. We use crushed rock with rock dust binder. Spread gravel when it's wet using back blade. Compact by backdragging with bucket angled with increasing down pressure. Grade road when it rains and compact after grading back dragging with bucket. I find angled blade best for crowning and backdragging one side at a time firms up surface to encourage runoff and prevent potholes. In summer grade and recompact every 4-6 weeks after rain. I own a harbor freight compactor and use it in my driveway and parking area once per season. Makes very flat surface that keeps it's shape and sheds water. Have used it to help neighbors shape their driveways. Very little effort to push on level surfaces.

Good stuff right there.

 

[ovrszd]

I learned a lesson, you can't just fill trenched out roadway.
You need to open up the whole area and then level it out.
Unless you fill the trenched out area with crushed stone and topped with fill material.

Strats first, then raise the Strats and make both blades hit the ground together.

BUT... I am now using the Grader/Scraper, after each rain, I am removing about two inches of material off the road each time and hoping for approximately 12" total... then replace the removed materials with about 3" of base stone and 3" of 3/4+ stone. I may need a roller to pack, maybe a rental.

I have one rock in the way, if I hit it with the BH it doesn't move, I do have a smaller BH but I would think the rock should move some but it sounds solid... so I thinking bed rock.
It is now sticking out of the roadway approximately 2", we will have to see where that goes.

Thanks for the input to this thread, it is helping me out !

Ltr

I've removed hundreds of rocks from roadbeds. I've hit rocks with the grader that don't budge, blade jumps over it. Thinking ow wow, this is a big one!!! Hook it with the end of the blade and pop it out. It's bowling ball size.....

I've got six places on my roadbeds that have exposed limestone bedrock. That really, really sucks. Requires constant maintenance. After enough erosion the only fix is get a large Excavator onsite and tear out the bedrock a foot or so below the roadbed. Then replace the material and rebuild the roadbed. Problem solved for another 10-15 years depending on how deep you go.

 

[fried1765]

Somewhat. Cat only offered high tech joystick equipment that is expensive and unnecessary. Cat has figured that out after 12 years and in 2020 will offer their graders with standard rack controls. Sales loss has driven that.

Thanks.
I was rather curious.

 

[Jaylegger]

No doubt about potholes forming again after filling. If you have a box blade with ripper shanks, lower shanks and rip up a few feet around the hold, fill and compact with repeated wheel travel.

I scarified potholes for many years and no doubt in my experience it made things worse in the long run. Disturb the least amount of already compacted material while improving proper grade is the way to go. The deeper you go the more work and money you may make for yourself in the long run if working by the hour.