Erosion control on steep fill

[daverave]

I put in a 400 foot driveway this July 4th weekend. It required 1 small dozer and quite a few truck loads of rock and gravel. I only had to take out about 6 smaller trees although one was a 45 year old Hickory.

They also cleared a spot for parking and turn-around. Since my land slopes quite a bit, the leveling process meant digging out from the higher areas and pushing dirt over the lower areas. Now I am worried about erosion as the banks in some areas are 6 feet high. Can someone recommend good erosion control techniques. I've thought of planting grass, alfalfa and wild flowers on those banks. The soil is silty, clayey. Other ideas presented have been to plant flat stones, checkerboard style, and let weeds grow up around them.

Tnx,

Dave

[MikeT]

Can you provide some more information?  Are the fills upslope of your driveway or downslope?   What angle slope are you dealing with on the fills and the cuts?

I am building my house on a steep slope and the access road is made out of some uncontrolled cuts and fills.  The geotechs I was working with recommended either regrading or retaining the slopes near the building site, but simply revegetating in the other areas.    Stuff grows very well here, so it is not hard to get grasses, etc to take hold.  Of course in the cuts that were quite steep around the building site, the risk of cave in was real and was realized once the heavy fall rains hit.


mt

[daverave]

MT,

Well, the deepest slope is down-slope of the parking lot - about 6 feet or a bit more, with an angle of about 45 degrees. On the other side of the parking lot I have a 30 degree up-slope of about 3-4 feet. On the driveway itself, the down slopes are about 3 feet. The cuts are about 2 feet and steep. I not worried too much about the shallow cuts and fills. Its the 6-7 foot one that scares me because it supports the outside edge of the parking lot.

The house I lived in as a boy (in Avon, Ct) had a driveway with about the same slope on the outside edge and we never had a problem. It just got weedy with no erosion and the driveway never sank (no cracks in the asphalt). I want to be careful here though.

What kind of retaining structures would you be considering Mike?

Dave

[diyfrank]

Getting vegetation on it would be the first thing I would do. Rocks placed in the slope looks good and helps hold it in place. Keeping water from running down it by placing a small berm along the edge and divert run off to a less step spot if possible. You can even grade a ditch going across and down  the slope at an angle to lessen the grade. lining the ditch with rock both looks good and help to prevent erosion.
Placing logs at angles will do the same.

The key is to slow down water run off.
Fast moving water = erosion

[MikeT]

I am not sure I would worry about creating structures.  I would first go with plantings.  I think others here will have a better sense of the necessity of doing something more.  45 degree slope at 6 feet seems reasonable to me.  And the shallower slope doesn't seem like an issue either.  Was the fill compacted?  Even with the bottom of the bucket getting pounded down repeatedly, it seems to help.   I have bushes and trees on my steeper slope and it has really held over the years.

mt

[poppy]

Frank hit the nail on the head.  Diverting water is the main goal.

Your county extension agent can recommend grasses on plantings that are good for slopes.

[Redoverfarm]

Crown Vetch is a good errosion control and cover.  

http://www.outsidepride.com/catalog/Crown-Vetch-Penngift-p-17146.html

But here are some others as well.

http://www.outsidepride.com/catalog/Ground-Cover-Seed-p-1-c-297.html?gclid=COiDr8_RzZsCFU1M5Qod_0rxMA

I had planted this on a steep bank some 12 years ago and it has done well.  The only down side is that it will migrate by birds and wind.  Rather a little on the pricey side and you will have to use an "inoculant" to insure seed germination.  What I had planted will die off or turn brown in the winter months but quickly returns green in the spring.

[glenn kangiser]

Jute erosion control netting is pretty cheap - $70 or so for  4x400 about 1"x1" weave.  Also straw will hold things in place and hold moisture until things start growing.