Driveway across hillside - which way to pitch it side-to-side?

PastorBill · Sep 10, 2017

Hi - looking for help! I'm cutting a gravel driveway horizontally across a moderately sloped hillside. The driveway, itself, will be slightly uphill along its length to the road. Total length is probably 30-40 yards. Gonna park RV down there. For drainage, should I pitch the driveway side-to-side (a) back into the hillside with a french drain both on the inside and at the low end, (b) no pitch with french drain at low end, (c) pitch away from hillside slightly but still have french drain at low end? Or something else?

I'll be putting some kind of blocks along the upper hillside to cover the 2-3 feet of exposed hill.

This is down in my lower yard, so the driveway is not running near my house or buildings. Nor buildings below. Actually, a canal runs across the bottom of property some 30-40 yards below this area. We're in Northern California in the foothills, so our rains can be heavy with the ground super-saturated = lots of run-off on the surface of our property (which is all moderate hillside).

I've got a hydraulically-controlled scraper (top and tilt), a backhoe, and 4-in-1 front loader. I'm a complete novice with the new tractor (Kubota L-47), so know how to waste enormous amounts of time and make very little progress (or undo previous progress!)

Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Bill

RedNeckRacin · Sep 10, 2017

I don't know what your soil is like nor your precipitation so bear that in mind. In PA we slope it in to the hillside for various reasons. Snow and ice for one, and slick mud for another. This does require cross pipes that aresponsibility adequately spaced and sized for the flow as well as outlet stabilization, , stabilized ditcheck linings for the anticipated flow, and swales, broad based dips, or conveyor belt to keep the tire tracks from creating erodible stream channels. I would try and keep your grade to the minimum possible to make it more user friendly even though that is more work.

RNeumann · Sep 10, 2017

General rules-

1) Don't pitch (side to side) the road down hill- erosion will ensue

2) If the water is pitched (side to side) into the hill and it needs to cross the road- do so at a low point with a culvert- 4" minimum and use SDR35/3034 or better.

3) Roads do good with a crown. I know this statement can contradict my above comments- it all depends and these are general rules.

If the base soil is at all soft or contains high organic matter or doesn't compact well don't waste time, money and imported base- use road/landscape fabric.

For reference- I have a similar driveway- up a hill with side slope. Most water is directed into the hill (point 2). However I have one section that needs a crown as directing everything into the hill created issues in that section.

PastorBill · Sep 10, 2017

Thanks, guys! Just spent the last 2 hours working on your suggestions. Learning all this is SO humbling. I feel like I'm learning watchmaking with Shrek's hands!

Tons of hours of work left, but hopefully a couple of months until the rains start!

Thanks again,
Bill

RNeumann · Sep 10, 2017

Around here they say photos needed or it doesn't count!! Enjoy the new machine. Your hydraulic T&T will be nice. I don't know how folks do without that feature.

RedNeckRacin · Sep 11, 2017

Agreed, pictures or it didn't happen!:thumbsup:

PastorBill · Sep 12, 2017

RNeumann said:
Around here they say photos needed or it doesn't count!! Enjoy the new machine. Your hydraulic T&T will be nice. I don't know how folks do without that feature.

There will be pictures once it's not too embarrassing to look at! I'm probably the only tractor operator capable of scraping a driveway to look like bombed-out airfield.

Bill