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Building a Road with a 200-3

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blooper

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Dec 14, 2010
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NS
I started building an access road on my property today. I'm using a 1988 PC 200-3, a 1970's Constructor dump truck, a chainsaw, and some matches.(for the burn piles).

I have to put in one 20 foot culvert, and the road will be approx 1/2 km long through thick forest. I'm cutting some of the larger timber first and then grubbing with the 200-3. I have close access to some decent shale that I plan to build the base with.

I'll post some pics as I go, starting tomorrow. Any tips, comments or suggestions are more than welcome as this is my first road build. The goal is to have access with a farm tractor when I'm done with the potential to top it with good gravel in the future so a car could travel on it if I were to build there someday.
 
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wilko

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Bed the culvert in with fine rock, fill the stump holes with bigger rock. Don't know what you mean by larger timber, but if it's not saw logs it's usually easier to push them over than to cut them first and then fight the stump.
 
B

blooper

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The trees I cut were a few large maple and birch that I wanted for firewood. What do you mean by bedding in the culvert? I have a few large rocks to put around each end.
 
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pf/l

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Prince Albert Saskatchewan
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Farmer/logger/heavy equipment op.
What he meant was putting a good gravel base under the culvert so it doesn't sink or sag. Dig it down a bit deepr then you need then build it back up to grade with gravel and pack as you go if possible.

Do you have a thumb on your hoe?

Are you building it up or just digging the ditches out? Or is it just a flat road going threw?

Good excuse and time to get a nice sized dozer too.:)

Ryan
 
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blooper

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Yeah, I have a thumb on the hoe. I've cleared about 10 acres and have lots of experience running mulching heads and land clearing, but none building roads. Thanks for the tip on the culvert.

I'm cleaning out all the roots/stumps/organics then building it up a little. Only a short section should need ditching to the culvert. Ohhhh how I'd love to have a dozer! I'm going to have to make due with a farm tractor to push the fill around when I dump with the old dump truck.

Ever use shale for a road base? I'm wondering how it will hold up.
 
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pf/l

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Thumb will sure make life allot easier.

I know all to well what it's like to want but not have. Sometimes a guy just has to make due. Usually works out in the end anyways.

Can't say or sure on the shale but I would think it would hold up not to bad. Maybe hard on tires though I would think. All we have around here is black dirt and more black dirt.lol.. It's nice to farm but horrible to try and build with or work with unless it's dry. Nearest decent gravel pit is about 50 miles one way.

Ryan
 
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wilko

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To expand on what pf/l said, hold the culvert down with the hoe and push smaller crushed rock like 3/4-0 over the top of the culvert so that your shale goes over rock, not fill dirt. Any stump holes get filled with shale, not pushed full of dirt. I've used flat rock to build road (although it was basalt), just walk it in good with the hoe until it's tightly packed. The rock on top should break up from the weight of a 200. (I'm assuming your material won't turn to mud when it gets worked)
 
CM1995

CM1995

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Running what I brung and taking what I win
I am a firm believer in using what you have to do the job, just like my sig line says.:D

Good advice so far and I would like to ad you are also on the right track by putting some "rip-rap" around both the inlet and outlet on your culvert. This will help with washout and scour around the pipe.

I am not familiar with your type of shale rock or if it's the same type we have. Our shale works great for structural fill but it does have a tendency to break down with traffic and water over time.
 
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blooper

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NS
Thanks again for the tips. The shale I have here is pretty clean and ranges from almost a sand to larger rocks that break quite easily. There is a bit of clay in some of it but not too bad. When it dries out it is like cement, but if too much clay, when it gets wet it can get a bit slick/slimy.

I finished grubbing the first section today, and spent just as much time cleaning up the brush and organic top layer. Next weekend I'll be putting in the culvert and trying to finish grubbing the rest. Here are some pics of where I started and where I am going. Good ol Bay of Fundy in the background of a couple pics, through the snow!
 
Last edited:
mitch504

mitch504

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By "cleaning up the organic top layer" did you mean stripping the topsoil off? If not, leaving the topsoil when building a road is usually a common but bad mistake.
 
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blooper

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Yeah, I took it all off, topsoil, roots etc. Under that is mostly clay here, and shale down about 4-6 feet.
 
B

blooper

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image.jpg

One more, the view from the property I'm building the road for.
 
CM1995

CM1995

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Nice scenery, keep us posted.
 
3

390eric

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pittsburgh PA
Most of what we have in my area is a shale/ clay mix. Clay on top, then shale. As you dig it try to mix it all together as you load it in the truck. If you are using your tractor to knock down the fill, I would bring the excavator over occasionally to run the fill in. The hoe will break the shale up easily and help compact and tighten it up. I would even say run your loaded dump truck up and down it to run it in after you use the hoe to break the bigger shale up. Running the loaded dump truck on it will also show you if there are any soft spots, which then could be dug up and dug a little deeper. Then fill it back in with good shale. That road will be fine if you pay attention to mixing the dirt up and trying to pack it in good. Good luck have fun
 
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