ICE! Wintertime Shady Section of Driveway

[NorthwoodsLife]

So, I have a section of my driveway that freezes over at around December and stays frozen until about April. My driveway goes thru medium dense forest and this particular section is in the shade all winter and part of Spring. It also has an uphill on the South side and a downhill on the North side.
The worst part is that there is a curve right after the shady spot and once you hit the ice on the driveway and then the curve, we almost go over the edge of the driveway into the forest on the downhill side.
This spot is about 1,000 feet from my house and electrical power. Driveway is mostly dirt with some small gravel.

I am looking for advice for a solution.

What I have come up with so far is:

> A heated mat under the driveway and running power all the way back to the house.
> Totally grade out a new driveway pattern over the top of the southside hill and abandon this section.

I've tried ice melt from different brands and it just make a bad situation worse because it globs and melt small areas and then refreezes.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Be well.

Pardon my chicken scratch....

 

[85Hokie]

What is the drive made from? Gravel? or?

Map made 100% perfect sense btw - easy to follow

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Oh, and I tried ripping out the ice with my LX2610 in the dead of winter and it doesn't have the weight and traction to pull up the ice. Which in mid winter the ice in this 100' section is about 5" thick.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

What is the drive made from? Gravel? or?

Driveway is mostly dirt with a small sized gravel application done about 6 years ago. It is basically dirt now.

 

[jimh406]

Change the slope, add dark stone, and take a few trees out so sun can hit it.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Change the slope, add dark stone, and take a few trees out so sun can hit it.

What is dark stone?

 

[lynnmor]

What is dark stone?

Any coal burning power plants in the area where you might be able to get some cinders? Years ago cinders were used on the roads in my area but they didn't rust out the cars fast enough so now salt is used heavily. Cinders can be dark in color and provides good traction.

 

[WFM]

Here in the northeast the town cuts the trees back allowing the sun to hit the roads.
It's amazing cutting the trees back and letting the sun hit the roadway it doesn't ice over any longer.
They have done this over and over with little opposition.
One of our worse roads is like a tree tunnel with giant pine and oaks. The road commishnor went ahead and marked the trees to cut them back. We have a bunch of Woodstock hippies that are wealthy land owners in town they protested the potential cutting of the trees and the road commishnor got the heat from the slectmen board and gave up.
But other area it's been done and is fantastic.
So call your local logger. And cut cut and cut some more.
You won't regret it.

 

[85Hokie]

My first thought is to re-pitch the drive, but this may cause a water run off problem

 

[rc51stierhoff]

I’m no expert, but if I’m understanding the water is not running off in that section to prevent pooling / freezing. I’d probably try to solve the pooling/drainage issue before trenching electric back there.

If all else fails I’ve always sort of had a crush on these…

Arctic Trucks' Specialized Vehicles for Polar Exploration

Polar Vehicles: Explore the specialized vehicles built for polar expeditions and extreme environments.

arctictrucks.com

 

[WFM]

No no no
You don't need a artic truck.
I see theses all the time on low bed trailers. This will let the sun in.

 

[jimh406]

What is dark stone?

Places sell gravel in different colors including black slate. You'll have to check with the local suppliers to find out what they have.

 

[TheOldHokie]

So, I have a section of my driveway that freezes over at around December and stays frozen until about April. My driveway goes thru medium dense forest and this particular section is in the shade all winter and part of Spring. It also has an uphill on the South side and a downhill on the North side.
The worst part is that there is a curve right after the shady spot and once you hit the ice on the driveway and then the curve, we almost go over the edge of the driveway into the forest on the downhill side.
This spot is about 1,000 feet from my house and electrical power. Driveway is mostly dirt with some small gravel.

I am looking for advice for a solution.

What I have come up with so far is:

> A heated mat under the driveway and running power all the way back to the house.
> Totally grade out a new driveway pattern over the top of the southside hill and abandon this section.

I've tried ice melt from different brands and it just make a bad situation worse because it globs and melt small areas and then refreezes.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Be well.

Pardon my chicken scratch....

View attachment 136617

I know that spot well. Barrel of sand and shovel on the side of the road.

Dan

 

[The Evil Twin]

My first thought is to give the water somewhere to go. Think of a railroad. The reason they don't (often) have issues with heaving due to ice formation is that they are elevated with coarse stone underneath.
While it would be some work (that is what a tractor is for!) Getting the dirt to slope away from the road, then backfilling with some #6, adding 57s on top would keep the water from hanging out there.
If you have snowpack that isn't melting, that's another thing.

 

[Dustball]

My first thought is to re-pitch the drive, but this may cause a water run off problem

View attachment 136625

I did this with my driveway which is very, very similar to what the OP has. All that's done for me is cause my vehicles to slide sideways into the bank when traction is lost.

Here's me digging my SUV (with dedicated winter tires) out one time and pulling it sideways so it wouldn't fall back in. It gets fun when traction is lost near the top and you do a 360 sliding back down.

 

[DaveFromMi]

Do the highway crews use sand instead of salt up your way?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Dig it down, place cloth then heavy drain rock, then small rock over that.

 

[Dustball]

@NorthwoodsLife

Any chance you have a PTO harley rake you can grind the ice with?

 

[mikester]

let the sun shine in

even asphalt will have freeze issues in shaded areas

 

[jyoutz]

Places sell gravel in different colors including black slate. You'll have to check with the local suppliers to find out what they have.

Dark stone only works if the sun can heat them up. In perpetual shade, it would make no difference. Trees need to be cut.