The Driveway

(click image for pictures)

The first phase of the driveway was to just cut a path through the woods so that vehicles could get through.  The path was between 10 and 15 feet wide until the trees were cleared.  This enabled dozers, loaders, backhoes and other heavy equipment to get to the areas that required attention. 

The second phase of the driveway was started on February 21, 2006.  There were a few lessons learned before starting this phase of the project.  The first and most valuable lesson was, if you have a hole in the road, it will fill with water when it rains.  Another lesson that goes along with that one is, if you fill a hole with dirt, it will turn to mud when it rains.  Another lesson that followed on the heels of that one was, if you put mud with small stones in a hole, when it rains the stones will sink to the bottom and the mud will still be there.  If you do not want a vehicle stuck in the mud or equipment full of dirt and mud, fix the road right the first time.  It will save a lot of money and time.

The driveway is now 20 feet wide and 1,549 feet long.  Fill dirt was used to increase the area where the ground was low.  The soil is sandy and does not provide a good base when wet.  Over 250 tons of stone was used during this phase.  Number 1 stone (which is about the size of a baseball) was used to provide a solid base for the driveway.  This was not completed until March 1, 2006.  The number 1 stone was rolled into the sandy soil using a 1.5 ton roller.  This will begin the process of smoothing the driveway.  The number 1 stone is too big and if not flattened would cut and tear tires if left by itself.  To prevent this, smaller gravel (number 57 stone - about the size of a half dollar) was placed over the number 1 stone.  The final load of number 57 stone was placed on the driveway on March 10, 2006.  It was rolled for the final time on March 11, 2006.  This will be left in place until after all of the construction has been completed.  At that time the final phase of the driveway will consist adding more 57 stone more where it is uneven and adding a layer of crush and run (about the size of a dime with dust) which will be rolled.  This will provide a  reasonable hard surface that can be dressed with a small chain harrow and riding mower.