Need help with Corduroy road

[dave1949]

Makes perfect sense not to use the wood ones.

The plastic ones don't have the nail/spear problem, but they are permanent and not particularly nice to fill the woods with.

Does my math make sense for gravel:

400' x 5' x 0.5' = 1000 cu-ft = 37 cu-yds @ 1.25 tons/cu-yd = 46 tons of material.

Holy cow! I haven't priced material, but a quick glance and it's in the $20-$30/ton range -- that's $1000-$1,500 just for the stone.

Is my thinking right on this?

That's awful expensive stone. I am used to paying ~$16 per yard delivered. Sometimes less.

But, it's going to cost you unless you do with on-site or free material.
Dave.

 

[BobRip]

The idea of doing it while the ground is frozen means the paths are also covered in snow -- okay for dozer/excavator, but no commercial delivery dump truck will get in there.

You could bring the gravel in late in the summer. Then do the work during the winter. Would the gravel get stolen between times?

 

[inveresk]

Fabric is sold in builder's merchants here by the foot. Bought this way, you can get just as much as you need, no waste. Perhaps they do the same in your area. It's not hard to cut with a knife but it doesn't tear easily.

Put a sign up at the end of your drive (and maybe on Craigslist) saying clean fill wanted. Phone haulage contractors in your area to see where they're excavating nearby. Here we pay to dump fill so signs seeking it never remain unanswered for very long. If you get a response, you'll want to check the stuff out before it's delivered and make sure it's reasonably free draining.

Then instead of an excavator, get a trailer for your atv, a shovel and a rake and you have a project for the summer that isn't going to cost you much.

 

[josephny]

This article and the associated comments might be of interest:

Geogrids vs. Geotextiles - Setting the Facts Straight - Geotechnical Engineers

 

[josephny]

You could bring the gravel in late in the summer. Then do the work during the winter. Would the gravel get stolen between times?

Good idea, but this is a seasonal location (I'm only there late Spring to early Fall) and I'd really like this path operational this season.

 

[josephny]

Fabric is sold in builder's merchants here by the foot. Bought this way, you can get just as much as you need, no waste. Perhaps they do the same in your area. It's not hard to cut with a knife but it doesn't tear easily.

Put a sign up at the end of your drive (and maybe on Craigslist) saying clean fill wanted. Phone haulage contractors in your area to see where they're excavating nearby. Here we pay to dump fill so signs seeking it never remain unanswered for very long. If you get a response, you'll want to check the stuff out before it's delivered and make sure it's reasonably free draining.

Then instead of an excavator, get a trailer for your atv, a shovel and a rake and you have a project for the summer that isn't going to cost you much.

Managing this project from 100 miles away with extremely limited time means as much delivered (as opposed to picked up) and pre-arranged (telephone/email) as possible.

I know, the requirements, restrictions and parameters leave a smaller and smaller window for a solution.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Managing this project from 100 miles away with extremely limited time means as much delivered (as opposed to picked up) and pre-arranged (telephone/email) as possible.

I know, the requirements, restrictions and parameters leave a smaller and smaller window for a solution.

Yeah, you are in trouble there. How much would 400' of the plastic mud mats cost? Maybe you could even find used ones?
larry

 

[Redneck in training]

I saw something similar done in Siberia. Might not be the same though. They build roads on permafrost. They build road only in the winter when everything is frozen and they get access to fill taken usually from a river. In the summer there is 3ft of mud everywhere. The fill is sand, gravel or whatever material is available near by. They pile it up several feet above surrounding ground. When the bed is done they put reinforced concrete panels on the top. The road slowly sinks over few years time so when it is almost to the level of the surrounding ground they remove the panels and put them on side of the road bed and add another 3ft or so new material on top and reassemble the road.

 

[josephny]

Here's today's update:

1) The AM Leonard fabric is not appropriate for this kind of application, as per AM Leonard.

2) US Fabrics has the right geotextiles (from $585/roll of 432' x 12.5' delivered to $3/yd -- $1,800 for the same amount). But, on top of several feet of peat, there's a high likelihood it will not work. An engineer is required to figure it out

3) 3/4" gravel or 1.5" #3 rock is available in 20 ton truckloads for $15.25 and $14.74/ton, respectively.

Back to the drawing board.

Any thoughts?

 

[ultrarunner]

Here's today's update:

1) The AM Leonard fabric is not appropriate for this kind of application, as per AM Leonard.

2) US Fabrics has the right geotextiles (from $585/roll of 432' x 12.5' delivered to $3/yd -- $1,800 for the same amount). But, on top of several feet of peat, there's a high likelihood it will not work. An engineer is required to figure it out

3) 3/4" gravel or 1.5" #3 rock is available in 20 ton truckloads for $15.25 and $14.74/ton, respectively.

Back to the drawing board.

Any thoughts?

First thought is rock is cheap where you are... looking at $50 a ton here in truckload quantity.