Our driveway is almost a quarter mile in length and climbs some 250 feet up from the street. It contains two 90-degree plus turns. The driveway was built in 1957 or so and has served us well. Like so many things, weather changes have caused major problems in the past few years. 100-year rain events that seem to be happening every few months have caused the drainage ditches to overflow and wash the gravel and dirt into the woods. Ten years ago, we installed two small culverts to divert the water. That worked for a few years. Then the hard rains started to wash leaves and debris from the forest floor into the side ditch. The culverts clogged and again water ran across the driveway taking gravel and making large cuts in the driveway.
This short, not very good, video will give you an idea of what we dealt with during heavy rainfalls.
Photo above taken in 2019. We have been battling and loosing to the water for years now.
Two years ago, we determined that we needed to rebuild the driveway with more culverts and catch basins. It has taken us this long to find a contractor who would show up to do the job.
Starting at the top
We lucked into a company Morin Landscaping that specializes in water flow management. The redesign starts at the top of our hill. The old design had the driveway crowned, with water flowing to each side of the driveway. The new design has the gravel built up on the “uphill” side, so the water is shed toward the woods and not headed to the first curve.
Work was done in the yard to the right in the picture above to spread the runoff over a wider area as it goes into the woods.
Three catch basins
As the water rounds the first down hill curve it will be directed to a covered 24″ catch basin that feeds a 15″ culvert under the driveway. The catch basin will be covered with a removeable lid so debris can be removed as needed. The old 12″ culvert is visible in the upper left. It was constantly clogged with gravel washing off the road in heavy rain.
A second catch basin and culvert are being added between the original culverts. This one is located where a natural drainage ditch has formed.
What had been the main culvert (it was the largest and received the most water) has been replaced with a basin and new 15″ culvert.
Here you can see some of the change in elevation from the street, with the lake in the background.
Downhill side and ditch reconstruction
Dirt removed from the installation of the catch basins and cleaning of the inside ditch is used to stabilize the downhill side of the driveway.
The water flowing off the hill enters the ditch and flows straight into a deep ravine. This ditch will be filled with rip-rap to allow water to flow while keeping leaves and debris on top.
Day 2 Rip Rap
Over the decades, the side ditches have eroded and deepened to the point that a vehicle would be stuck if they slid off the inside edge of the driveway. To correct this problem and to a) slow the flow of the water and b) to prevent debris from filling the ditches, we are adding rip rap.
Andy is placing the pieces of stone on top of a fabric liner.
Covers will be added to the catch basins,
Reshaping both sides of the driveway will help with water flow and improve safety. In an emergency, with the rip rap at the driveway level, we can drive to the inside if needed. This is very important during ice and snow-covered periods.
Day 3 Finishing rip rap and moving dirt
A short day. The berm shown at the top was finished and the final rip rap was put in place, along with the culvert covers.
Test 1
Before the new gravel could be spread, we had the first big test of the new drainage system. We had a downpour with over a half inch of rain falling in just a few minutes.
Once the rain stopped, I drove down to see the results. Before the reconstruction, water would have overflowed at the curve and the main culvert with this amount of rain in this short period.
There was no washing at the first curve and no water running through the first culvert. Regrading the driveway at the top of the hill has caused the runoff to shed into the woods. The middle culvert is located at the base of a natural ditch, and this is the source of the flow through the culvert.
There was no water flowing through the third culvert. The ditch is handling the flow.
We are expecting more heavy downpours over the next 36 hours. We could see a total of 4 to 5 inches.
Test 1 rates an A+.
Update
The very good news is the second night of storms didn’t happen. We had an additional quarter of an inch of rain. That was nothing for the new drainage system.
Gravel Down
Andy placed the final load of crushed stone (I am of the old school and want to call it gravel). No more worries about it being washed to the side.
More rip rap by the natural drainage dish. We will watch the bank over the next few months.
The crushed stone makes a smooth driveway. It will be compacted as we drive on it in the next few weeks. Andy will place some straw mats in a few places, but the driveway is basically finished!
Storms are forecast for the weekend. We are ready!
Finished!
The final load of crushed stone was spread and the straw placed along the bank.
Thanks to Andy and the crew for a great and timely job! We are sure the driveway is good for another 50 years.
Test 2
Although not as intense as some recent storms, we had an inch of rain fall within a few hours, prompting flood warnings. Note the water in the normally dry creek.
The driveway water flow system is working perfectly.
June 25, 2023 Update –
At about 5 PM today, we received over an inch of rain in under 10 minutes. I just walked down the driveway; you can’t tell it rained! Before the rebuild of the driveway, it would have been devastated , and more gravel washed away.
We thank Andy and Morin’s Landscaping for a great job!