Driveway re-do, looking for advice..

[mike-o]

Winter has NOT been kind to our gravel driveway, leaving a high spot in the center with nice deep wheel trenches on the sides. Time to put the box blade on the BX 25D and get to work. Should I put the box blade rippers full down and tear up the ruts, or leave the rippers up and shave down the center, or some combination? I took a few pix, hope they show enough to give an idea of what I'm working with.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bluegill]

I see no reason to use the rippers. I've been doing a mile long gravel drive
for 24 years and have never put the rippers into it.

 

[Bulldog]

I have a long uphill driveway that would wash away every time it rained. I used gravel and put angled speed hump so to speak that turns the water and slows it down. That's the only way I have ever been able to keep mine in good shape. Unless the water runs over my humps it doesn't wash anymore.

 

[buckaroo52]

I drive a dump truck for a big quarry and see this situation a lot. My opinion is that you leave it be until things dry out more. You want the driveway just barely damp, not soft or wet, spring rains will just follow your original ruts if you don't rip them out and just grade over them. Once things firm up a bit, rip the ruts completely out, regrade the driveway, and because of the steepness of your grade, put down a load of 1 1/2" minus rock to finish it off. If you have access to a roller to pack it tight that would be great, if not, try to "wheel walk" it in with a heavy truck or something. Steep grades require more work than flat driveways. Hope this helps you out.

 

[DennisDarrow]

Do you have just a blade?...........You can angle the height of a box blade to move some of that "outside" gravel, fines, and rock over towards the center. From what I see you have NO crown to speak of so you need to develop either a crown down the middle, or in your case as the slope is going across your road, a slope across the road surface.

I would really prefer to see a crown down the middle with a small ditch for runoff on the uphill side of the road slope. If you have or get a blade it is easy to angle the blade and just "push" stuff from the side of the road toward the center to make the crown. Go deep enough to "dig up" some fines to pack down around the rock that you move.

Yes, for sure get a roller or something to "pack" down ALL of the stuff that you have moved disturbed. EVERY inch across the road surface needs to be packed.

Have been doing this on my 1/2 mile of 15 to 20 degree slope for many years now and once you get it right it will stay. THE BIGGEST cause of wheel ruts is using the exact same path as folks drive up and down the road.........TRY TO DIVERSIFIE the "path" of the vehicles so that the are helping to pack the entire surface than than digging up the same place over and over.........God bless.........Dennis

 

[Bluegill]

I have a long uphill driveway that would wash away every time it rained. I used gravel and put angled speed hump so to speak that turns the water and slows it down. That's the only way I have ever been able to keep mine in good shape. Unless the water runs over my humps it doesn't wash anymore.

Most of our drive is uphill and fairly step in places. We also have 'speed bumps' in the right spots to divert water off. Works great.

 

[D2Cat]

Until you have a ditch of some sort on the high side of your drive you will continue to has a soft driveway. All the moisture coming off the hill has to go somewhere. Now it's coming onto your drive path and keeping it soft.

You'll probably need something in the ditch to slow the water running down hill some, until you get some growth on the sloped part. Could use some clumps of straw pinned down every 15-20'. Grade a crown, as mentioned, to the center to keep water running to either side and not down your drive path.

When you blade snow don't cut down to rock. Stay up an inch or so. Every once in a while you will scrape down to some rock and that will be where the sun accelerates the melting, so it's not a problem just don't attempt to clear ALL the snow and you'll save your crown and less damage through out the winter.

 

[mike-o]

Thanks to all for the replies.
The driveway is still a work in progress, it initially had a slight slope towards the hill (left side looking up the drive), but 3 winters pretty much wiped that out. When the work at the top is finished, the plan is to have a gravel-filled ditch/french drain down the left side. Given the width, it's difficult to vary the path much, which is why the ruts are so wide (2 ft across). Don't have a roller at this time, may get one this summer. I have been using my truck to pack things in, it weights in around 7000 lbs.

The gravel that is in there is standard 2B w/ extra fines that has been in for 2.5 yrs. Has done a VERY good job of hanging in through some heavy rains and this past winter which went from heavy downpours to heavy snow and sub-zero temps within 48 hrs a couple of times. My concern with using the larger rock (1.5-) is if my wife's car would have problems with it being too rough.

Now if my Quick Hitch would come in and the weahterwould dry out a bit I can get to work!

 

[Eric McCarthy]

If it twas I.... I'd rent a 5 foot power rake and set it shallow and reshape the driveway with the power rake.

 

[cerlawson]

As to compaction, rubber tires do a great kneading compaction action, so your truck is much better. The main thing is to vary the tracks on loose stuff. You also might make a sign for visitors. "Please help to smooth the driveway by taking a different track from others", or words to that affect.

I had lots of similar trouble until I bit the bullet and paved it. A 500 ft. driveway.

 

[BotaDriver]

You should be able to have recycled asphalt put down and be done with it for many many years. It's the most economical solution especially on a slope such as yours. For us to do a 450' run of drive was less than 2k installed. We spent 3x that for a 30x30 garage pad and 35x25 parking pad.