Washout-proofing a ditch

[Bullwinkle123]

See attached photo, which unfortunately doesn't show the 10-12 vertical inch drop from driveway surface to water very well.

I have this drainage ditch along my gravel driveway feeding multiple culverts all in the hope it will keep my driveway from washing away.

Mostly it works. Most of the length of the driveway the bedrock is right at the base of the ditch. It probably is here too, the pebbles you see are the gravel it's constantly washing out of my driveway. So it's not something I can deepen with a tractor. I might be able to push it back a, but that probably wouldn't work unless I move the ditch back the whole length of the driveway, which isn't pragmatically feasible (trees, rocks, difficult spaces).

So need some way to line the driveway gravel so that the next rain won't just wash it out. I have no idea what to use. Cement / cinderblocks of some kind seems easiest, would that work? I'm looking for suggestions from people who have overcome this particular erosion problem.

I hate having to regularly throw more gravel (purchased by the truckload) at this problem.

 

[bcp]

County road dept. here lined a similar but larger ditch with softball-sized rocks, pressed into place with the back of an excavator bucket. Still good after several years.

Bruce

 

[Thomas]

As bcp said and if you can reroute the water.

 

[CalG]

Haven't we had the rain!

The ditch on the drive up to our place looks about the same, only worse.
There are ledge oucroppings that keeps the run off from exposing more "ditch" away from the roadway. And if the near side ditch is plated with stone, the waterway becomes so narrow as to spill over in a drencher.

Marlboro VT road dept lines a bunch of ditches with 3-4 inch stone only two years ago. It looked like a real winner! But now that stone is silted in, and the water goes across the roadway in a bunch of spots.

Still, our troubles are small.

 

[airbiscuit]

Would something like this help?

 

[Diggin It]

County road dept. here lined a similar but larger ditch with softball-sized rocks, pressed into place with the back of an excavator bucket. Still good after several years.

We call it RipRap ... softball to bowling ball size, crushed with jagged, irregular edges so it locks together. Takes a whole passel o'rushing water to move it.

Can be used to line a low spot or build up a bank along the road to keep gravel in.

 

[oosik]

Around here the county highway dept uses straw bales in many locations. Every 75 to 100 feet down the ditch. Usually two or three bales laid across the ditch. Dirt will collect upstream of the bales. Soon grass will grow. The bales have created an almost permanent structure.

 

[4570Man]

I hate riprap lined ditches. You can’t mow it. I’d rather have the erosion.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

As bcp said and if you can reroute the water.

The driveway er, transversely traverses, a hill, although the incline is not severe. The entire portion of the land on the ditch side of the driveway is basically a water shed for the upper portion of the hill, which is why there are multiple culverts under the driveway. The spring thaw alone (without rain) creates huge volumes of water in that ditch, and it can also push around some pretty big rocks. Perhaps rocks are a thing to try though, certainly here in new england I have piles and piles of rocks. But I was hoping for something more concrete, if you'll pardon the play on words.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Around here the county highway dept uses straw bales in many locations. Every 75 to 100 feet down the ditch. Usually two or three bales laid across the ditch. Dirt will collect upstream of the bales. Soon grass will grow. The bales have created an almost permanent structure.

Would that just cause a huge unfortunate mass of water at the end points of the bales?