This is a video created to show how to deal with water eroding away your Mountain Road (gravel, rock, dirt) even if you are off grid like me. With a few basic reused materials that are Cheaper, Stronger and more efficient than anything else out there for this type of situation, you can once again take back your road from the water and the problems that flow with it.
I came across the use of some property, but soon found out that accessing it was a BIG problem. The road or what was left of it hadn't been maintained in YEARS and mother nature had done what she does best and had taken back huge sections of it making it impassible, even sticking my 4x4 truck, in a section of deep ruts on a very steep approach. Right then I knew I had to do something to even be able to access this peaceful and beautiful wilderness.
I explored different types of dirt/tree water bars all of which required constant maintenance to keep operational for long. I looked at store bought options, Too much$$$$$ for me to spend knowing how many I might have to do. Then I came across the Hwy guard rail method. Why not I thought, they were made to be outside, were very heavy duty, thick and already galvanized to withstand the elements and traffic beating down on them.
I searched the internet for how to videos on the best way to install these after stumbling across the idea on a forest road maintenance post but was unable to locate any. After confirming the idea with an old rock truck driver I was convinced to give it a try.
A quick google search found a few businesses that have made buying these used guardrails (ones that were taken down because they were replacing that section of roadway for one reason or the other) easy as a phone call. I would suggest calling them to get your material cost, they have contacts for shipping but try to find the closest one as this will be a big expense, one supplier was higher for the shipping then the actual materials!
Besides the guardrails, you'll need some shovels, pick mattock and a good back! Installing these is not easy work by any means and how hard it is will greatly depend on the soil in your area. Mine was rocky and light packed gravel mixed with clay. I averaged one panel installed in about 2 hours from start to finish, including grading the area around it.
Lay your guard rail out in the spot you would like to install it. Put it at angle with the lower side running towards the natural slope of the road at that point. They do not all need to be facing the same way so dont try to fight gravity, which if installed on the downslope and with enough angle will catch any water that has collected and take it down the guardrail right off your roadway.
Once its laid on top of the road in the place you want and your satisfied with the adjustments, begin using it as a guide and dig out your trench.
Dig the trench down deep enough that the guard rail will be flush with the surface of the road and about 2" wider and about 6" longer on each side than the guard rail to give you some play and make it easier in the long run.
Once the trench is dug to the required depth and width, visually look and see if there are any high spots, if you arent the visual kinda person, take a long straight object (2x4 works good) and lay it in the trench to see if there are any high spots. Dig out any high spots until you have a nice flat area for the guard rail to sit in. This is a very important step, so don't just throw it in there, take the time to do it right or don't do it at all. If you got lazy and did just throw it in there, you will get a bounce with it every time you go over it, preventing it from settling, allowing more dirt/rocks to work its way under it and eventually you'll be digging it out to fix what you could have prevented in the first place.
Place the guard rail in the trench and walk on it to see if its got any bounce or give in it due to the area underneath not being flat. Be sure that your trench is deep enough that the panel sits below the surface. If everything looks good, start filling the dirt in around it. I went a little further and tried to stuff as much dirt as I could into the cavities on the ends and the holes, but recently after discussing this with someone I think an easier method would be to buy some cement mix and use it to fill in the holes. Do not worry about getting dirt in the rail as it will all get cleaned out in the end. Pack it all in, grade it out and remove the excess dirt that ended up in the rail.
Lastly grab some bigger rocks and place them in a cascading fashion on the low end of the rail, when it rains and water is flowing swiftly, it will go over this mixed rock, slow down and disperse rather then taking all the soil at the end of your rail away and creating ruts there. Little ruts will just get bigger and bigger causing you once again to do more work then if you just did it right the first time :) I wish you the best of luck & hope it helped.
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