New road on steep hills

[Ken45101]

I have a very steep road / trail to access part of my land. This road was constantly washing out due to heavy rains. I try to direct the water to one side.....but alot of it is just destined to go across the road. I recently put down a layer of crushed granite and had that tamped down well with a viberatory packer. It almost looks like its paved. So far it has taken a few downpours and looks like new. I think (hope) everything is going to stay put for a long time.....but it's still a little early to know. I have also put down some crushed concrete in the past with pretty good results too.

According to a USFS bridal trail building manual, it's best to have the entire trail tilted a bit toward the downhill side so that the water runs off in small amounts rather than in large volumes in a small number of places. I've noticed that we I've done that (more by luck than foresight), the trail holds up well. OTOH, where it runs down a gulley on the uphill side, I get heavy erosion.

Ken

 

[Johndeere3720]

All this time, people have tried to imagine what the road looks like. Well, last night I went out there with the tractor to grade it and to take pictures. The ground is pretty hard since I dug down last time to get to solid ground. There is a but of a lip on the side but the ground is not stable enough there to use the tractor. The road is much longer than in the picture but this was the steepest spot.

 

[WayneB]

Jacob, I am not sure how you plan to hold the bank back? Maybe a stone type retaining wall?

Wayne

 

[woodlandfarms]

We have very steep driveway that is around 700 feet, all of it is uphill. It rains a lot, and due to the design, water is just part of the equation.

Last year I cut nearly horizontal lines across my driveway every 30 feet or so using the edge of the boxblade. The lines are at an angle the uphill side higher, the lower side ending in the ditch. These channels are saving my bacon in repairs. The water runs off to the ditch instead of picking up speed and volume on the grade. It keeps my road in reasonable shape, but is a bit of a pain to maintain, but maintenance on a washed out road would be so very much more.

 

[davygp38]

Our hunting club is accessed by a long steep road, that has worn down over the years to something similar to a log flume. All I can say is, get the road right from the beginning. In our case the part that looks like a flume, is straight up the hill, and steep. The only way to fix it is to cut down the sides, build large ditches and crown It. All of which is our of league. On the good side, the kids love bouncing up the road.

 

[Oldchuck]

From looking at your picture I suspect your little road will be gone after the first winter. You get a lot of rain, right? The soil looks pretty crumbly? Your steep slope will reassert itself quickly. Road gone.

Don't know how much trouble you want to go to keep that path open but, in my opinion, you will need a combination of all that has been suggested so far: ditch, culvert(s), sloped hard surface, and retaining wall. Wider too.

 

[Johndeere3720]

So it sounds like i need to make the road wider with a slope on the left side so the water runs off the hill. I dont have any rocks except a small pile that is probably under a million weeds now. My step mom is worried that it will be muddy on the road in the winter, it is kind of obvious if the horses use it to get from the back corner to the barn. Some of the road closer to the barn has grass growing which will hold that part together this winter. Maybe to get that excess dirt off of the left side i can use my grader blade to pull it up onto the road, scrape it off and put it by the gate in the picture. Then I will use the skidsteer to dig a little deeper to make the road wider and on solid ground which the road is currently on 90% solid ground. I will also take pictures in the process. It will be a few weeks though since im going horse camping with my grandparents. Oregon is kind of weird, winter has mud and 3 days of dry and its all dust.

 

[Ken45101]

I don't know your soil type, but around here we certainly don't need retaining walls.

Yes, the bank on the right will erode some and will eventually reach an angle. I try to dig a bit extra to leave room for that. Eventually I will make another run down it to clean it up some, but I have hillside trails like that that have lasted for years without problems.

Your road looks good to me except that I would grade off the left side so that the water can run across the road and off, rather than being caught and forced to run down the road.

If you are really interested, the USFS has an excellent book on bridal trail building and maintenance. Lots of good info in it, and it's free

Ken

 

[schmism]

hear is were a good qualty rear blade comes into play.

offset it to one side with a slant and you can easly and saftly drive on the road while the 2-3' of blade reaches past the edge of the tractor and grades the material off the edge for you.

that job is one that a box blade cant do no matter how skillled you are.