Packing/sealing a gravel road after 'resurfacing' / land plane

[jyoutz]

If you are using straight gravel, it will never stay packed and have to be repacked over and over again. What we use around here is a mix called road base gravel. It’s a mix of different sized gravel and crusher fines. The different sizes plus the fines lock the material together. I installed this on my road 6 years ago. It was packed initially and has stayed packed together pretty well. It’s almost like concrete. A few times a year I surface grade the road to pull some of the loose gravel from the ditch and shoulders back onto the road, but for the most part the road stays packed. Uniform sized gravel without fines will never stay packed and hard.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, you can watch auctions, and look for vibratory rollers, as well as traffic rollers. Traffic rollers do an excellent job, but aren't in nearly as high demand, and often sell pretty dang cheap when a paving outfit is selling them off. I do agree that a double drum roller is not ideal.

The ones you've seen on diesel creek on trench rollers,

So, I know it's not the question you asked, but it addresses the over all issue; what is the source of the erosion? Do you have massive sheet flow going across/down the roadway? Have you considered having the rock primed and sanded, or chip sealed? Is there swales/ditches? If so, do you need to add ditch blocks to slow the water?

 

[paulsharvey]

You mentioned skid steer rollers. I dont think i would mount this to a CUT SSQA, but if you do have a skid steer, imported vibratory ss rollers are available. I dont know how isolated the roller is from the SSQA...

 

[LouNY]

They are not isolated, it will do the same damage as the jack hammers and other vibrating devices do to the attached equipment, rapid pin wear, accelerated hydraulic wear, and just general vibratory wear and chaffing.

 

[paulsharvey]

They are not isolated, it will do the same damage as the jack hammers and other vibrating devices do to the attached equipment, rapid pin wear, accelerated hydraulic wear, and just general vibratory wear and chaffing.

In that case, I would Not mount that on a small-medium tractor. I've seen first hand what a hydralic hammer does to equipment.

 

[ruffdog]

I have about 1/2 mile gravel road which takes a beating. I'm going to redo it with fabric and gravel, but I want to figure out a way to pack it as smoothly as possible, after I'm through with a land plane. A lot of the road is on a north facing hill, and it tends to wash out, even though I plan on raising and crowning it, I'd like to pack it in, as when I leave it loose, it is gone in 2-3 weeks.

I don't want a project. I want a packed road.

It sounds like you haven't solved the water control issue yet. Until you do, even packed, the gravel will wash out.

 

[jyoutz]

It sounds like you haven't solved the water control issue yet. Until you do, even packed, the gravel will wash out.

Agree. And if the drainage is addressed and the correct road base material is used, I don’t think repeated packing will be necessary.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, a frequent source of erosion is the edges of the travel way, ie shoulder and/or front slope of a swale/ditch. Those areas really do need to be stabalized, generally with grass, but there are also natural jute mats, and other things. Waters erosion ability is based on volume (gpm) and speed (fps). You can sometimes control volume, by retaining and slowly releasing/perking, but generally you can only really control speed, using ditch blocks, dissipators, as well as shape of ditches. A Long ditch, at a steady fall will wash, and soon take the front slope/shoulder and eventually the driving surface. You can break those long straight runs up, either by allowing multiple outfall locations, or ditch blocks, or even the general shape (straight let's it flow faster, and erode more).

Another source of erosion, no offense, is guys not leaving stuff alone. Once you have an established drive, Stop grading it, unless it really needs it. Every time you grade it, you loose moisture (need to keep it all together), you break up aggregates, you segregate aggregates, you loose compaction, and you loose fines needed to bond it all together. If you are regarding even 1/month, you really need to solve another problem.

 

[paulsharvey]

It is Often overlooked by people, but there is a good reason ditches and road side shoulders, as well as pond banks are grassed, and it's not for appearances. You need vegetation to hold the soils in place against water. There are a lot of people who seem to obsess about keeping grass out of the center of a gravel driveway? Why, as long as it doesn't build up enough that you rub in the center, that grass is holding stuff in place. (I get the guys dealing with snow not wanting it).

 

[oosik]

It is Often overlooked by people, but there is a good reason ditches and road side shoulders, as well as pond banks are grassed, and it's not for appearances. You need vegetation to hold the soils in place against water. There are a lot of people who seem to obsess about keeping grass out of the center of a gravel driveway? Why, as long as it doesn't build up enough that you rub in the center, that grass is holding stuff in place. (I get the guys dealing with snow not wanting it).

paulsharvey has the right idea. I've never "resurfaced" the entire length of my mile long gravel driveway. Just short sections - here and there. I've always found that my M6040 @ 10,000 pounds does a great job of packing when the repair is complete.

AND - there is a VERY GOOD reason I have native grasses down the center and sides of the driveway. It holds the surface in place. Native grasses and a gentle crowning have worked well on my driveway for over 42 years now.

If I wanted a driveway that looked like a downtown street - there is alway asphalt or concrete.

Besides - the neighbors cows keep the driveway grasses maintained and fertilize them as they pass by.

Those who come to visit and like to speed down the driveway spread this fertilizer nicely.

It all works out.