DIY poor man gravel road dust control

[Oaktree]

Ive never seen a county do anything about dust control on a dirt road. Maybe some do, but not around here. Its just accepted that dirt roads are dusty. Adding more ball field clay to the existing sand and clay mix does help.

Last thing we'd want on roads here is clay, especially in mud season!

 

[paulsharvey]

Last thing we'd want on roads here is clay, especially in mud season!

Around here, dirt roads are just sand, and maybe some sand-clay; ball field clay type material. We dont have gravel roads. The ball field clay does pretty well, but it does get a bit slimy when wet, but the clay increases the LBR, and does keep the dust down. with that, we are generally dealing with sugar sand, and not high organic or water holding material.

 

[Eagle1]

Last thing we'd want on roads here is clay, especially in mud season!

It may help hold sand together in FL but here I would add sand (creek gravel) to keep the clay from being total snot to grease your tires.
Best practices are way different depending on soil and terrain. No hills to climb or slide down in FL. Nothing flat here.
Mostly red or gray clay soil here only sand is in the creek bottoms.

 

[paulsharvey]

If the dirt road is pretty solid, smooth, and firm; priming and sanding it can be a good option. You can cut the asphalt emulsions prime with water, and it is more a matter of finding a contractor that does it, more than material cost.

 

[Eagle1]

If the dirt road is pretty solid, smooth, and firm; priming and sanding it can be a good option. You can cut the asphalt emulsions prime with water, and it is more a matter of finding a contractor that does it, more than material cost.

The real problem is mud season, night time hard freeze, melt during the day, add some rain or snow and there is no bottom to the muck. At times in the spring I can't get a four wheel drive ATV up a gentle slope (if at all) without leaving 8" deep ruts with a 300 pound machine and water flowing in those rut. 2 wheel drive truck is no go on the dirt/gravel roads if any steep sections are to be conquered.
That season can go on for weeks or months here.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Try a bit of crusher run mixed with sand. Locks in place well, seems to reduce the dust for us

 

[paulsharvey]

I get my similar topic, different threads mixed up, and it does not look like it was brought up in this one; there is a waste product from paper mill digested, that is a non corrosive dust inhibitor.

 

[paulsharvey]

.

 

[paulsharvey]

Did some searching, and math, and 55# of lignosulfonate powder is $191. That should make approx 500 gallons of ready to spray mix. At an application rate of 0.3 gal/sy=1000 square yards or 9,000 sq ft, or a single lane, about 12 ft x 750 ft; or two lane, 18 ft x 500 ft. It recommends reapplying every 3-9 months.

Now, you Do need to wet the surface before applying, so

 

[bigtiller]

Lignosulfonate is crudely nicknamed tree sap in my area of the world.
I used it for a few years for dust control until the guy applying it moved to far away for it to be profitable for him.

I thought it was just as good as anything else we have used, with the added benefit of being environmentally friendly.