Driveway approach issue

[R68GTO]

My contractor finally poured my concrete driveway from my new garage to the county road. I am so happy to not be dragging gravel into my garage and house! I may be a little psycho about this but there is a 1 to 2 foot gap between my new concrete and the county road I live on. Right now I have some gravel making that transition. What would you recommend I do to eliminate this small patch of gravel? Would a asphalt cold patch work? Obviously I would like it to last a while, but if I had to do some maintenance on it each year I would be OK with that. The county road is a tar/chip surface.

 

[kd3pc]

any asphalt that is not laid "hot" is going to last a short time, if any time at all. You, or the county, should install or have installed an apron or sweep from the county road to your driveway.

In Virginia, VDOT or any of the counties hesitate to get involved, because so many contractors have a "right of way" along the road, that they will do all they can to not put anything down, even a culvert....why? Because they do not want to be liable for the cost of maintaining it or the litigation that always follows, nowadays, anytime someone runs into it, or the car turning in to your driveway. I have seen many cases where the state paves the road, and then within days some company digs it up and lays a new fiber/comm/power line and "patches" the newly paved road....that lasts about 8 weeks in summer, and a few days in the winter.

Other states do things differently.

Other than gravel and rapidly disappearing cold patch, there is not much that will hold up in that area.

 

[jkwilson]

Often a paving crew will take care of a small job like that when they are working in the area. Especially for cash.

 

[7th Kahuna]

Fill it with some marston matting or something similar?

Seems to me, since you are coming off a tar / chip surface anyway you have a lot of options. Fill it with railroad ties, heavy treated timber, etc. I have had some success with cold patch, tamped, coated with a little used oil, hit with a propane torch, and tamped some more. If the soil isn't the greatest, lay a bed of mixed rock / gravel first.

On the more expensive side are polymer soil binders. They can simply be watered into the existing soil and will hold up to varying degrees of traffic. http://www.enviroseal.com/m-10.htm

 

[volleyball]

I'd pour a concrete pad. So what if it gets torn up in the future. Then get a few more bags and redo it.

 

[kd3pc]

.... coated with a little used oil, hit with a propane torch, and tamped some more. If the soil isn't the greatest

better not get caught coating anything with oil and then putting it on the ground. Grossly illegal in every state. EPA thing. Even leaving a sheen on the driveway or similar can result in fines. And if you are near a creek or marsh, forget it.

What was used in the "old days" like using used oil to do fence boards, or settle the dust is a real no-no now days and may result in a significant fine. Especially if there is any water or creek within miles.

Only thing worse than oil is using calcium chloride and fuel oil to settle the dust (like we did decades ago)....that gets even the feds going. Then add in owning a dragstrip that sells racing fuel, methanol and nitromethane.

 

[MG44]

I've seen guys take a bag of concrete and shake it over gravel and wet it And let it so for a day. Keeps the gravel in place. Other then that 4"'of asphalt

 

[7th Kahuna]

better not get caught coating anything with oil and then putting it on the ground. Grossly illegal in every state. EPA thing. Even leaving a sheen on the driveway or similar can result in fines. And if you are near a creek or marsh, forget it.

What was used in the "old days" like using used oil to do fence boards, or settle the dust is a real no-no now days and may result in a significant fine. Especially if there is any water or creek within miles.

Only thing worse than oil is using calcium chloride and fuel oil to settle the dust (like we did decades ago)....that gets even the feds going. Then add in owning a dragstrip that sells racing fuel, methanol and nitromethane.

Yeah, I know what you mean, it was only a little, just to loosen up the fine grains, and what is asphalt after all. I made those patches in the mid to late 80's and they are still holding strong in my parent's driveway. Environmentally speaking, that's pretty good. Better than a whole new driveway.

 

[HoosierMark]

Since it is at the end of your drive, I would concrete it. The reason is that this area will have a lot of stress from you turning your wheels on it as you enter and exit your drive. I have seen several black top drives where they pour an section of concrete at the road about 20 feet and then blacktop the rest of the drive.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Tar and chip, just like the road.

 

[kd3pc]

and what is asphalt after all.

waaaayyy different from motor oil, it is mostly carbon black, bitumen, and "oil" that is not really oil, but a petroleum conglomerate that softens at 130-150 degrees..

Glad that it worked and I agree the patch you made is far more environmentally sound than the other options, or redoing it every year or less, with more "patch".

I just don't think the authorities see it with the common sense approach you and I share and would use to solve the problem.

 

[Zeke]

The railroad tie idea sounds good to me. I wish I knew a good way to patch in concrete patches that have sunk. The city and its contractors cut the alleys, dig and refill but don't compact as well. The trash truck weighing several tons comes along and pushes the patch down into the cut leaving a 2 to 3" lip. The alleys are like driving a street in the Gaza Strip.

 

[7th Kahuna]

^ 2 to 3 inch lip? That sounds like a hazard the city would want to address. Tell them you just saw a guy in a wheelchair talking to an attorney about filing suit under the ADA.

I have the opposite problem. Last year, Southern California Edison had a contractor come through and run new underground conduits for a high voltage line. The project went for several blocks. The trenches were 8 to 10 feet deep. They back filled everything with a 1 sack sand and cement slurry. Truck after truck. Then they doweled all the road crossings before pouring back the concrete. Underground it looked great. I don't expect it to settle. Unfortunately they were not terribly experienced with flatwork. A lot of it is high. Water running down my driveway used to run across the sidewalk out to the street. The new sidewalk is 1/2 to 3/4 inch higher. Now I have a big puddle, same with the front walk.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Is your road a county road or a Twp road ? If it's the former, ask the guys at county garage, that's what Hancock Co ? If you have a twp road, try asking your twp trustees about filling it in and making the transition. Small rural areas like yours or mine sometimes makes it easy to get stuff like this done.

If they can't do it, they might be able to provide you with the name of a small paving contractor that could do the asphalt approach for you.