Access with lots of roots and mud

[3rett]

Guys,

I'm a total newbie to land shaping/maintaining. The wife and I bought our first parcel this fall, 14 acres, and are trying to fix a couple spots along the access trail that will eventually be our driveway. The one spot in particular is about 40-50 feet long and was completely overgrown with approx 1" brush saplings. This area is also a low spot and is always wet.

We cut down all of the saplings and left the stumps exposed. The thought was we'd get an uprooter (manual sapling lever puller tool) & a brush grubber for the tractor and pull all this stuff out. Well the roots are much larger than you'd think and these tools can't pull them up. So I bought a County Line subsoiler to try to get underneath them, but it proved to be too much for our 8n.

So since the site needs fill my next idea was to cut the stumps down to ground level, spray them with some type of brush killer, and then bury them..

Am I overlooking something here? Would this succeed in stopping the brush from coming back up through the fill?

Also, I estimate the area needs about 2 feet of fill to get above the wet surface. Would any type of fill work here, or should I get something specific?

I'll attach some pics so you can get an idea of what I'm battling..

All help is immensely appreciated..
Thanks!
Brett

 

[RNeumann]

You will need to add road fabric to the budget. No matter the imported material it will just sink away without road fabric between the swamp and imported material.

The “book” would have you grub the stumps and organic material out before you build a road. What you do is up to you though. It’s a judgement call.

 

[dragoneggs]

Can't tell from the pics... but also look see if there is a way to divert the water to a lower spot via a open ditch or culvert. Fabric, big rock then smaller crushed gravel. Pay attention to how you grade so the water goes where you want it to go. Good luck with your project!

 

[muddstopper]

If you can divert the water, that would be the first step. You might have to bury a drain under the wetspot and run a pipe away from the mudy stop. then dig out the mud until you get to good soil. Lay fabric in road bed and cover with large clean stone. Cover the clean stone with a good base gravel such as crusher run. If you drain is below the fabric it should allow the water to seep thru the larger stone and run out of the drain keeping the spot from becomeing a mudhole.

 

[dragoneggs]

If you can divert the water, that would be the first step. You might have to bury a drain under the wetspot and run a pipe away from the mudy stop. then dig out the mud until you get to good soil. Lay fabric in road bed and cover with large clean stone. Cover the clean stone with a good base gravel such as crusher run. If you drain is below the fabric it should allow the water to seep thru the larger stone and run out of the drain keeping the spot from becomeing a mudhole.

Yep... what he said.

 

[RoyKing]

unless you got lots of money, you've got to raise that area or get the water to leave. Tractor with box scrapper with tines. Trench both sides of drive and put the dirt on driveway.

 

[Streetcar]

If you leave the organic material, you will have some long term maintenance issues as it decays and compresses. Depending on thickness and uniformity of the level, problems could be minor.
What is your location and soil type. There are different geotextiles for clay or silt

 

[radioman]

Looking from your pics... I cant see where u need 2 feet of fill. But i can see where its wet and you do need a buffer between the wet area and your new road.If you are sure you need 2 feet of fill then consider a cordory road and geotextile. Put geotextile on ground then full length logs then geotextile on top. Cover with fill completely to prevent rot. This way you can let water migrate on either side of road but have a stable road.

 

[nyone]

I would leave the stumps too. I wouldnt even bother spraying with anything. Add bank run to the level you want and make sure you have ditches on each side to drain the surface water. Add driveway fabric after you have driven over the road for a few days and its rained enough to compact everything.

 

[Streetcar]

A corduroy road will be long term maintenance problem. Tres above water will rot.
Geotextile needs to go under gravel.
Does water flow through the proposed road