Tight turn across narrow culvert?

[riltri]

We have purchased a lot on a creek off of the Pamlico River....we are very excited. But there is one problem. I have to make a left turn across a 3' wide ditch that has a 13' wide drive/culvert. I had to widen my driveway to 16' and I just barely make it. I'm looking for ideas on how to temporarily extend the culvert. My hair-brain idea is to cut 1/2" plywood into 4 = 2'x4' pieces, laminate them and use block for support on the right side for my truck front tires. Any ideas on how to make this turn?

34' 5th and F250 w/6.75' bed

[JRscooby]

If you can extend the culvert down stream, use a larger whistle, very little digging needed. Just enough to get the larger tube around the smaller, and level the bottom of ditch for pipe. Concrete to keep fill from falling in then compact up to grade.

[Cummins12V98]

riltri wrote:
I found a landscaper who says he has extended several culverts. This should be the least expensive soluton. Thanks for all the suggestions!!

GOOD, that way your money is going to something you can keep using.

[riltri]

I found a landscaper who says he has extended several culverts. This should be the least expensive soluton. Thanks for all the suggestions!!

[Cummins12V98]

bucky wrote:
It's a private road in rural eastern NC. Nobody will care as long as drainage is not compromised.

If that's the case the fastest is a steel plate as mentioned. Price probably a tossup compared to extending the culvert and filling in with gravel.

[valhalla360]

bucky wrote:
It's a private road in rural eastern NC. Nobody will care as long as drainage is not compromised.

Private roads can sometimes be worse than public.

At least with public roads there is a process and if you follow it, they will probably approve.

On a private road, a cranky neighbor can scuttle it for no good reason.

Of course, if you are correct and no permits/approvals needed, adding a section of culvert to the end and filling it in makes even more sense.

[schlep1967]

All you need is a 6 foot log, some chain and a load of stone.
Attach chain to log.
Drag log into ditch.
Cover log with load of stone and compact.
Drive in.
Shovel stone back out onto driveway. You can always use more stone on your driveway..
Drag log back out of ditch.
Saw log up, split it and use it for campfire.

Follow me for more great advice!

[bucky]

It's a private road in rural eastern NC. Nobody will care as long as drainage is not compromised.

[Cummins12V98]

valhalla360 wrote:

riltri wrote:
The steel idea is a good one!! I was a GC for many years and have seen properly supported steel used often for heavy construction equipment. It is often used in road construction with 18 wheelers running over it. Only issue is the weight and putting it in place.

If you have a front end loader capable of lifting it and the steel plate, that's an option.

A 10ftx10ftx1inch plate will weigh around 2 tons.

How wide is the ditch? The spans allowed by plating are typically pretty small when traffic is allowed to run on them.

PS: If construction disrupting traffic is the issue, you could get a piece of culvert and a load or two of stone and extend the existing culvert without closing the road. Just work from the yard side. Your truck should be able to carry the culvert and a load or two of gravel to fill around the culvert. I'm betting an afternoon and your done with no impact on the road.

YEA and face fines for doing work without going thru a lengthy permit process.

[valhalla360]

riltri wrote:
The steel idea is a good one!! I was a GC for many years and have seen properly supported steel used often for heavy construction equipment. It is often used in road construction with 18 wheelers running over it. Only issue is the weight and putting it in place.

If you have a front end loader capable of lifting it and the steel plate, that's an option.

A 10ftx10ftx1inch plate will weigh around 2 tons.

How wide is the ditch? The spans allowed by plating are typically pretty small when traffic is allowed to run on them.

PS: If construction disrupting traffic is the issue, you could get a piece of culvert and a load or two of stone and extend the existing culvert without closing the road. Just work from the yard side. Your truck should be able to carry the culvert and a load or two of gravel to fill around the culvert. I'm betting an afternoon and your done with no impact on the road.

[JRscooby]

riltri wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions and even the criticism....I'm married, I can handle it!!

Backing is not an option due to other obstacles.

This is a private road. Not certain how the other 8 residents would feel about having their only egress blocked for half of a day eventhough the end results would be an improvement for all. It is a poor rural area, so getting help on the cost is not likely. I checked with a grading company. They said it is not a very long process to get county approval. But said $4-8K...he would need to look at it.

I think that pulling partially in then backing a couple of times might cut the turn radius down enough.

The steel idea is a good one!! I was a GC for many years and have seen properly supported steel used often for heavy construction equipment. It is often used in road construction with 18 wheelers running over it. Only issue is the weight and putting it in place.



Thanks again!

You might be surprised at how few pounds per square inch that "heavy" loader puts on the ground. When used for normal traffic normally bridge small hole, or the hole is first filled with rock that is easy to remove.
I fail to understand the road blocked for more than a few minutes to redo the culvert. Cross existing with equipment and materials. Dig out remove, replace culvert from non-roadside. Backfill/compact then load spoils & equipment, haul across new culvert.
You say only 1 way in/out. Can you just change the angle of the drive? Looking at from where you start your turn, move the street end toward your rear, the other side of ditch extend off at angle? This way you don't need to leave the road at a 90*

[2112]

I'm in a similar situation backing into my driveway. Narrow street with deep ditches on both sides.

I come at it from the other direction so I can see my trailer tires from the drivers window.

I have my driveway on the driver side. As I approach I literally drive my driver side front tire a little bit onto my driveway as I'm passing it. Once my rear trailer axle reaches the far side of the driveway I cut the steering wheel hard right until the passenger front tire reaches the edge of the pavement.

While still rolling forward slowly, turn steering wheel left to follow the pavement edge until the rear trailer axle goes just past near side of driveway. Put it in reverse, cut the steering wheel all the way right and follow the trailer up the driveway.

Easier said than done, I know. I was freaking out the first 10 times I did it but now I don't even think about it. It just takes practice and confidence.

On Edit: I didn't see backing in was not an option until I wrote all that. Never Mind

[riltri]

Sjm9911 wrote:
Is it your driveway? Just span it with a steel plate? Obviously suport that plate.

Thanks Sjm9911. I had not thought about that. There is a very large highway contractor where I live. I'll discuss options with them.

Thanks again!

[riltri]

Thanks for the suggestions and even the criticism....I'm married, I can handle it!!

Backing is not an option due to other obstacles.

This is a private road. Not certain how the other 8 residents would feel about having their only egress blocked for half of a day eventhough the end results would be an improvement for all. It is a poor rural area, so getting help on the cost is not likely. I checked with a grading company. They said it is not a very long process to get county approval. But said $4-8K...he would need to look at it.

I think that pulling partially in then backing a couple of times might cut the turn radius down enough.

The steel idea is a good one!! I was a GC for many years and have seen properly supported steel used often for heavy construction equipment. It is often used in road construction with 18 wheelers running over it. Only issue is the weight and putting it in place.



Thanks again!

[valhalla360]

cummins2014 wrote:

Gooma wrote:
No desire to extend the culvert, but willing to chance damage to truck or RV using a temporary bridge?

Nothing here helps the OP , they didn’t ask for criticism.

Extending the drive seems the best solution.

Sometimes pointing out how someone is being silly forces them to reassess...so yes, it is helpful if the OP is open to considering reasonable options.