Road Maintenance

[airbiscuit]

I agree with a 50hp - 60hp tractor
I love my rear pull snowblower (you have the advantage of making the first pass going downhill)
Your ditching isn't all that bad (it's the lack of a crown that is causing your erosion)
I would recommend a heavy rear blade with a guide wheel (Woods makes a dandy) to maintain the road surface/crown

 

[oosik]

MtViewRanch - post#4 - hit the nail squarely on the head. EXACTLY what I would recommend. I have a Kubota M6040 - heavy duty Rhino rear blade and heavy duty Land Pride - land plane grading scraper. I also have a mile long gravel driveway.

With the HD rear blade - no need for a blower. I have a couple serious "drop offs" on my driveway also. But NOTHING like your video shows.

As far as equipment costs - the rear blade, $3700 - - the land plane grading scraper, $2250.

You need to get all those families off the dime and help share in the costs. I have unpleasant thought about those types. Doesn't bear repeating here.

 

[deezler]

Your phone lines are essentially just tossed in the ditch on the side of the road? That's rather ridiculous.

Where does the power line come up? The phone lines should be strung along that same utility corridor.

You can't let an old wive's tale about shallow phone lines keep you from properly maintaining a road that badly needs some help, IMO. If the telephone company wants to keep all their paying subscribers, they should be willing to have proper infrastructure in place, no?

But a land-plane should allow you to dress and smooth the road surface effectively, without cutting very deeply. This will make it nice and smooth, until it rains or some snow melts again. You need better ditches, period.

Thanks for sharing the very informative video. Quite the little mountain commune you have going there.

Edit to add that I agree with your plan. A rear blower and front FEL plow on a 50-60 HP tractor with chains should handle that road just fine in some heavy snow, and pull a land-plane and scraper blade well in the summer.

 

[bcp]

Road grader and good operator to clean ditches and fix crown and slope (maybe every 5-10 years). maintain with a land plane, minor repairs with a rear blade.

Bruce

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Your phone lines are essentially just tossed in the ditch on the side of the road? That's rather ridiculous.

Not at all unlikely. Rural cooperatives often run copper phone lines with a walk behind trencher at the edge of the road. When I moved into this house that’s exactly how they ran the phone line from half a mile up the road. Thankfully we now have fiber up on poles.

 

[kthompson]

There is also a major issue to consider by anyone doing a road, liability. There is a small dirt road that is an easement across our land. No idea how many years old it is but it is the only access for the three who own land behind us. Two of those are farm land so decent road is not an issue and there is one house. When we moved here I bought a rear blade suitable to keep the road graded. Was doing so as needed which was not often. Turned out our county took back up plowing the road which confused me it being an easement and talked with them. Yep there are going back to taking care of the road unless I made formal request and maybe other land owners, not to. When I realized they would then be totally liable for condition of the road not only for ease to travel but any condition that could contribute to a wreck or even car repair. That my friend in today's world with neighbors who are not even willing to pay $25 for road care a year is very very possible lawsuit waiting to happen.