Dirt Driveway - Looking for assistance with ruts

[YLee Kioti]

So I would need to box blade the driveway and get it flat as possible again , and then Gravel Gravel Gravel?

No sir not flat as possible again.Mistake first time of that is the case.
Due to angle of pic not sure how wide the ditch is, as road curves left. But it seems as though ditch on the left part of curve is not wide enough and deep enough for water run off.

Two tools needed if your up to it. A blade with off-set so you can cut ditch and add depth of the slope for water run off on the left side.
I could not get a good read on the right side but if you can also cut a ditch on that side also with same slope for run off.

Then the road needs to be crowned for run off from the center of road and eliminate standing water.
The Box Blade can help by pulling in dirt to fill and level out those ruts. Then road can get a final pass for a crown and you should be much better off in the future.
This would be your foundation, then 3 to 4 inches of crushed gravel will have an even depth of gravel as it will follow the contour of the crown you just built.

Regards

 

[Redlands Okie]

Getting some good advice above.

Sloped so NO water sets on the drive. If you need to slope it from one side to the the other fine. A couple inches of drop on 10 feet is likely to be the bare minimum at best.

The textile material works great after you slope it and if you can be sure you are not going to dig it back up by accident later........

Large gravel first layer like 3 inch or so. Let it pack in then 1 1/2 inch on top. All gravel to have a variety of sizes in the mix. Called crusher run around here. This helps lock it together and keep it from moving around.

Ask around but one thing some do around here in high clay content Northern Oklahoma as a poor mans start is mix in sheetrock into the mud holes. Scraps from job sites (new stuff so no nails of course). Can get it for free if you ask around. The gypsum seems to bind into the clay and firm it up. The paper comes off when wet and just disperse or breaks up into the mix over time. Just drive over it for a while. Then start covering it with your gravel layers. It looks bad at first but once it breaks up and or the gravel goes down its never seen again.

A blade that you can tilt and angle might be a good item for your needs instead of a box blade. Do some checking around and beware that this comment could start a whole new set of suggestions on proper way to grade the drive

 

[Streetcar]

Standing water will destroy a clay road base. Get rid of standing water. A slope across road will work. After road is sloped to remove water you can add the filter fabric and gravel

 

[lootiejay]

Thank you all so much for this info. IOt has been a hectic week. I have been back and for between LS and Kubota dealers trying to figure out what is right for me and my needs as well as being realistic at the same time.

I am a 40 year old man and I have never felt like more of a child than I do right now, but all these suggestions are really helping!

 

[PILOON]

Lots said is correct.' especially ditching.

I'll add that geotextile followed by grades of crushed stone is the best way to go.

You want the textile to prevent the oozy clay from migrating to the surface otherwise all the crushed stone will be wasted and you will be adding more crushed every year.
Look at it this way.
Geotextile will probably replace 1/4-1/3 of otherwise required crushed stone and defer annual headaches.

In my area we have lots of clay base and wherever we or the city use geotextile the results are very noticeable.

Also, if available locally, re cycled asphalt in lieu of crushed stone for the finish is very desirable. Cheaper and better as it sets up under hot sun and ruts much less.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Thank you all so much for this info. IOt has been a hectic week. I have been back and for between LS and Kubota dealers trying to figure out what is right for me and my needs as well as being realistic at the same time.

I am a 40 year old man and I have never felt like more of a child than I do right now, but all these suggestions are really helping!

Look at the bright side, you have years left to really enjoy the life and the 'toys' as the wife call it. I stated at age 65 so each day is a pleasure.
Good luck in your hunt for solutions.:thumbsup:

 

[jajiu]

I have a 1000' driveway and it meanders thru the woods and up hill to my house. On the hill the excavator put 'rip-rap' and pushed it into the ground by driving his TLB over it, then used 3/4" 'crush-n-run' over it. the hill continues to was out looking like the Grand Canyon but I use my grader blade on my Kubota to drag it back up the hill and back grade it to smooth out and fill in any ruts left. That said, the longer flat run I use the 3/4" 'crush-n-run' for stays in place fine. Like you, the original drive was dirt and clay, and I try to build up one side so the water runs off to the side that has wet land. I know the snow picture doesn't show the gravel, but you can see how steep the hill is.

 

[airbiscuit]

The problem is I can not take anymore trees down from the right side to add a ditch to the other side of the road.
Would it be a better idea to add more dirt to that side so that the water rolls to the left of the road? I mean, I suppose that would be my only option at this point.

What is a tin whistle drainpipe?

Why can't you take any trees off the right side of your drive? Is it a property line?

Best to approach this by getting back to the basics:

Water will go where water wants to go

Be a fanatic about about your driveway contours and elevation so there never any standing water. That can mean a crown, roadbed sloped to one side, deep enough ditches, swales, etc. Whatever you decide, it probably has to be a little more pronounced than you first think.

Have good material on the roadbed

I will leave it to others to chime in on base, fabric, gravel, etc. That said, get the contours and ditching/swales right first. Standing water is your enemy.

 

[Liquidsilver]

What is a tin whistle drainpipe?

Sorry, that's corrugated steel culvert pipe. If you have a pooling area on the uphill side of a road, the water will always erode the road trying to get across. A drain pipe can let water cross the road underneath, without washing it out... it just needs someplace else to go.

 

[jbrumberg]

Lots said is correct.' especially ditching.

I'll add that geotextile followed by grades of crushed stone is the best way to go.

You want the textile to prevent the oozy clay from migrating to the surface otherwise all the crushed stone will be wasted and you will be adding more crushed every year.
Look at it this way.
Geotextile will probably replace 1/4-1/3 of otherwise required crushed stone and defer annual headaches.

In my area we have lots of clay base and wherever we or the city use geotextile the results are very noticeable.

Also, if available locally, re cycled asphalt in lieu of crushed stone for the finish is very desirable. Cheaper and better as it sets up under hot sun and ruts much less.

We too had problems with driveway rutting and had a contractor remove ~170 yards of mud/silt/rock and replaced it with 180 yards of ballast rock, then geotextile fabric, then grades of rock until a crusher run topping.

We have not had a problem since. It does need to be topped off, but its ~15 years old.