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Cabingirl
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# Posted: 5 Jan 2012 13:38 - Edited by: Cabingirl
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Hello Everyone and Happy New Year,
This is my third post I think, but I have been watching. I noticed that I haven't seen too much talk about roads and bridges, so I thought I would strike up the conversation. I was a little down today about the problems I have with my road which about a 1/4 mile long to get to where my cabin will be built. Also problems with my culvert/bridge.
I hired someone to widen my road based on the advice of the company that would deliver and build my cabin. The road turned out great except that I have a spring that crosses about half way down and is wiping out my road. I also discovered a second spring that is coming up out of the road. This Spring, my plan is to put in a culvert to carry the water to the other side toward the creek. Not sure how much that will cost. Also as a result of the water coming down my road which ends up turing into my bridge, the bridge is being eroded on one side. I called the contractor today and asked him to take a look at it to see if there is something he can do to fix it until we can tackle this in a few months. Can't wait until Spring!
Where my son is standing is where the bridge now has a hole to the left is where the water is coming
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bottom part of this picture shows where the road is muddy, the upper part is fine
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this picture shows my taking a pictuer of the road coming down from where the problem is
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same
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 5 Jan 2012 16:53
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Whenever excavation of any kind takes place consideration to the possibility of erosion should take place , Your contractor should have advised you of the risks.. all kinds of things could have been done at the time of excavation to prevent the damage you have.
IT is never to late to start . not knowing your location I hesitate to be specfic. but you need to get something to cover the loose earth and some native seed to start growing to stabilise the earth.
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TomChum
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# Posted: 5 Jan 2012 23:39 - Edited by: TomChum
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Cabingirl, you need to get a shovel and dig a ditch to carry the water away from where it's eroding your road. This needs to be done asap to minimize the erosion. Where it's softening your road, dig a drainage, drain the water away. You have to observe this while there is standing water on the ground. It might solve the problem but be ready to buy more rock if it doesn't solve the problem.
The way you did it, "just get it done" at less cost, is an OK method and many roads are done like that. With that cost savings your current job is to observe, and let the trouble spots make themselves apparent by using the road and pay special attention to it IN THE RAIN.
It looks like you'll have to raise the roadbed 5-10 inches with larger rock in that soft area. Your roadmaker can come back and add more rock, and you will certainly have to pay for it. At least you now know where the problems are. You only have to address the trouble spots, which probably costs less than doing the whole road like that. Your roadbuilder will know a lot more too seeing it while it's wet. You may need a culvert. You may have to put some fabric down. Doing it this way might be better than buying a culvert and never seeing a drop of water go through it. This is normal for a new road.
If you had the county's budget it would be different, you would pay a lot more and expect zero problems.
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Cabingirl
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# Posted: 6 Jan 2012 14:17
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Just and TomChum
Thank you for your support and good information.
I have been researching how to temporally fix the problem, and what I came up with is putting in a waterbar. My son and I will do the work. Hopfully, I can get a few of his friends to help.
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Cabingirl
Member
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# Posted: 6 Jan 2012 14:27
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I like this one
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exsailor
Member
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# Posted: 6 Jan 2012 14:50
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Quoting: Cabingirl The road turned out great except that I have a spring that crosses about half way down and is wiping out my road. I also discovered a second spring that is coming up out of the road.
Cabingirl,
Bonwich From the quote it looks like you will have to dig up part of the road that has the spring coming up in the road. To me it may be as simple as installing box of some material metal or concrete over the spring head, then piping the spring away from your road. Too bad it is not close to your cabin, it might make a good source of drinking water. Then again maybe I am not understanding your problem. Hope you find an inexpensive solution.
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bobrok
Member
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# Posted: 6 Jan 2012 15:27
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Quoting: exsailor might make a good source of drinking water
This was my first thought exactly.
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TomChum
Member
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# Posted: 6 Jan 2012 15:34
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Quoting: exsailor it might make a good source of drinking water
A spring is good except when it's in the road!
(apologizing to guests) "I swear it's normally clear as a bell then the dang thing clouds up only when visitors come!"
Maybe you can intercept it off the road?
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Montanan
Member
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# Posted: 6 Jan 2012 15:34
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Oh gosh- I can totally relate!! We have a spring on the hill just above the road. Since the road traverses a steep slope, the water from the spring (and snow melt run-off) crosses our road twice (high and low side of the switchback.) When the builder delivered our cabin shell, they had to pull the tractor-trailer with an excavator to get through the mud! It was awful. The builder used the excavator to dig a trench to divert the water alongside the road and we had our "dirt man" dig a trench across both parts of the road and then my husband put in pipe and put the dirt back to make decent culverts. But the mud was so deep and the section so soupy that our dirt guy basically removed the entire soupy section (leaving towering piles of mud alongside the road) and replaced that section of road with dry earth and LOTS of large rocks. It worked fine at the end of summer and now everything there is frozen. The real test will be this coming spring. Yikes.
I'm no expert on this and I'm sure the others will give great advice. Water can sure be your enemy. Good luck!!
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Swamphunter
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2012 16:33
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Cabingirl, in the area of your road that is very moist, have them put down a piece of driveway fabric before covering it with stone. It prevents the water from leaching up through the top of the road and kind of forces it down, and away. Also prevents your stone from being pushed down into the ground as you drive over it more and more. That is what I did on my gravel road
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Bevis
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2012 16:57
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Dig a swell (small ditch) along roadside to allow the water to drain. Instead of it running down the road.
When it's wet out, pay attention to how the water runs / drains in the area too.
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2012 11:06
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To All,
Thank you, so many good suggestions.
Right now I have two sick parents that I am taking care of. I have been taking care of them for three years. When things are calm I can get things done. Right now my dad may go into the hospital and I will not have any time to think about the road. I hope my road doesn't get to bad.
My contractor never responded to my request to look at the bridge. I hope he is not leaving me wet in the woods. Just a little humor. I paid $6000.00 for what he did so far. But now that I paid him, he is not communicating like he was before.
Just, you are right he should have stopped the project and told me that a culvert would have to be installed or I would have this problem. Instead, he did exactly what was on the quote that I paid him for. I could go on.
Montanan, sorry to hear about your problems please let us know how things look in the Spring.
One disgusted Cabin girl
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2012 11:49 - Edited by: trollbridge
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...don't get too down...this too shall pass right? I am sorry to hear about your father possibly needing to be hospitalized. Keep us posted. It is a lot of very hard and emotional work taking care of ailing parents isn't it.
Actually, the same could be said for building a cabin...especially the stage you are at right now. I remember those days all too well. We had a big battle with the DNR and FEMA over our bridge. In the end it worked out and we did all the work ourselves with good friends and family. We have a very tiny spring that runs down hill by our driveway and it luckily hasn't given us any problems. We also installed a couple culverts that have been great. The biggest thing we did was ordered large rock to put down first and then smaller over the top but not till we knew it was all firm-in every season.
Stay on that contractor...don't give up just yet...if he is a good guy he will see it through with you-in one way or another :)
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