We are dealing with a very steep driveway, it is 12+% but only about 100 feet long at the steepest part. I have coarse crusher run on it right now, and I have not had any trouble myself getting in and out with my dump truck, and the well drillers had no trouble, but the concrete guys are having an awful time. I had to pull them in with the 490, and then they set up a trailer pump and pumped the footers from the bottom of the hill. I am wondering about the long term with this driveway. I want to pave it, but pavement is tough to plow because it's too smooth. I wouldnt mind concrete because you can control how rough the finish is. Just looking for some insight, thanks in advance guys!!
nedly, I know someone else had already asked this question, but I still wonder, can you possibly change the swing, position, location of this driveway, or are there property line issues holding you back?
I'm only asking because I did a project here in New York state as recently as last year that forced me to build a 700+ foot long driveway up an unGodly steep parcel. The owner wanted to put his house up on top of this property, and it is shaped like a haystack...literally. It drops 200 feet sharply from the house elevation to ground zero at the property line neareset the state road.
I ended up doing a switchback, then I established a decent grade for about 150 feet, then had to turn it to the right because of a property line there. I got into a really steep angle upwards, and so I had to dig down into the driveway several feet, creating a "valley" so to speak, to maintain a somewhat consistent grade. Then the inevidable happened...I get into solid ledge. I still managed to get down far enough to find a happy medium,and took the fill I generated from the valley excavation and lost it down the way, which also helped soften the angle, and to this day after all the torrential downpours and freeze & thaw cycles it's been through, the road has it's integrity. Being in shale helped me out drastically, too.
Having the right tools such as a 320C and a D 5XL made life a lot easier I might add.
Is it an option for you, if you can't swing the driveway another direction, to dig down several feet and knock off the steepness of the grade? :beatsme