How NOT to build a driveway and how to solve it

Let’s Talk About Bad Driveways and Roads! Poor grading leads to drainage and erosion issues. This can be one of the most frustrating aspects of managing rural properties, which often have unpaved roads.

We’re breaking down the most common mistakes home owners and contractors make and why these problems keep coming back. But don’t worry, we’ve also got practical solutions that can actually make a difference. Whether you’re dealing with your own rough road or just curious about why so many driveways go wrong, this one’s for you.

Problem Situation 1:
Uphill driveway without proper culvert and ditches

This uphill driveway is causing pot holes where it terminates into a shared road.

Solutions

It is critical for a driveway like this have proper drainage structures to manage the water. Creating a proper ditch line should be the first order of business, both for the private driveway and the shared road. Once the ditch line is established, the culvert should be installed at the bottom of the driveway in order to keep the water flowing from one side of the driveway to another.

Property owners should consider re-grading where the driveway meets the shared road. Damage caused by water flowing down the driveway can be mitigated by building up the road and creating an out sloped section on the shared road. The idea is to minimize how much water stay and travel through the road.

Problem Situation 2:
Neglected ditch with poorly graded road

This particular road’s ditch has been clogged for a long time. Now, the water is flowing onto the road and creating big ruts and muddy surface.

Solutions

When a road is cut on a side of a hill, they should be properly sloped. Most of the road should have a crowned surface. It might make send to have in-sloped sections on corners. It is crucial to create a properly sized ditch line and have it be maintained regularly by an excavation contractor or homeowner with big enough heavy equipment. See below for road section references.

Problem Situation 3:
Flat section of a road without ditch and poor maintenance practice

This flat part of a road has lacking ditch or swale on either side of the road and causing the water to sit for a long period of time after the rain. Moreover, the maintenance practice has been placing 2B stones directly into the pot holes without addressing any other issues.

Solutions

This road must have ditch line or swale constructed on both sides of the road, in order to direct run off water from surrounding landscape downhill. When water sits for an extended period of time, it can create bigger damages on road, quicker.

After the ditch or swale is constructed, we recommend using the power rake to create a proper crown. It may be necessary to bring in loads of road base in order to build up the road structure.

It might be tempting to just bring in loads of new materials to solve these problems. However, without fixing the underlying issues, new materials will degrade quickly and you will end up with the same problem after a big rain or a long winter.