Driveway Drainage Help.....

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Guys,
I know there are a bunch of you guys that have much more experience on drainage issues than myself. So here I am.

My Vt driveway is approx 800 ft long. The first 200 ft are relatively flat, where I am taking the picture from, and from the pine tree on the left until you reach the utility pole its quite steep. In the steep section I unfortunately have a seasonal spring and water come out on this section. I would like to put some drainage in this section to keep the ice from always being an issue and also keep the washouts to a minimum in the warmer months. There is a swale on both sides of the driveway for snow and rain water runoff. My thought was to put some type of french drain in this section and then use some 45 elbows when I get to the bottom. What do you all feel is the proper way of doing this ? Just to give you an idea, I couldnt get the Massey up that section with chains in FWD. It was solid ice I ended up on my butt twice trying to spread sand to make it climeable !

All suggestions are welcome ! My butt still hurts !

 

[Egon]

Scotty - you have a problem!

Chances are drains are not the answer as they will freeze. More of a backslope may help by giving more room for the ice.

My only suggestion would be a rear ripper/ scarifier and almost daily maintenance to keep the ice at bay.

 

[scott_vt]

Scotty - you have a problem!

Chances are drains are not the answer as they will freeze. More of a backslope may help by giving more room for the ice.

My only suggestion would be a rear ripper/ scarifier and almost daily maintenance to keep the ice at bay.

Evenin Egon,
That doesnt sound too good I cant be there daily because Im only there on the weekends The sand worked good but only after I put it down ! Myself included Maybe a 3 pt hitch sander ?

My farmer neighbor up the road suggested going around the outside of the field on the right to alleviate the steep section but that would make the drive 1500 to 1600 ft long Guess I better think awhile on this one ! Thanks !

 

[Z-Michigan]

This may be overkill, but could you keep the same basic path but put in switchbacks to reduce the slope that your vehicle has to climb?

 

[Egon]

Scotty, your neighbour may have a good idea. Winter time and water seeping out of a side hill can be very hard to deal with. Either hope for real cold weather or real warm weather. In between the water keeps running and freezing.

I've seen this quite a few times on ski trails in the mountains. It can get real interesting either climbing up or going down.

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Z and Egon,
Thanks for your replies ! I will get some supposed experts up there this spring and see what my best option is $$$

Thanks for your suggestions !

 

[EddieWalker]

Hi Scotty,

I sure love to see your pictures and how pretty it is in your part of the country!!!!

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[em14]

Scott,
There is an old saying about road building ... " Get the water off and the rock on" ... basically you need to just raise the road some ... get a good drainage with ditches on the sides to divert the water away from the road and keep a nice surface of rock and a good crown on the road. That spring's water needs to be diverted away from the road but I don't think the french drain will handle that job very well ... an intercepter ditch to divert the spring's water away from the road or carry it along the side of the road maybe the best way to handle this water. Beautiful place you have there.
Leo

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Leo,
Yep, I think you and Egon hit the nail on the head ! To begin with I dont have any crown on that section of the driveway, thats part of the problem. And as long as water is flowing there is no real way to stop the ice.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Egon]

That spring water doesn't follow a ditch very well when the temps below freezing. It just keeps piling up and up and !!

Darned -- slipped on the ice again!