What is the process of grading a steep jungle mountain road 6

[mahalo]

I am in hawaii and need to make a road through steep jungle with large and small boulders. The road from lot "A" (bottom) to lot "B"(top) has an elevation change of about 45 feet and the distance is about 135 feet.There is about 40 feet in width to work with. I want to keep it legal(permits, etc.) and keep costs down. What is the process to get this project off the ground properly and quickly?

 

[Civil3]

What purpose will this road serve? You are talking a 33% grade which is excessive.

 

[mahalo]

The owner wants to build a house on lot "B". Lot "B" is a nice, big and relatively flat lot which was cleared of trees a few years ago. There is a kicker-the owner started a road (no permit) on his own and boulders rolled into a city & county councrete drainage ditch. The neighbors called the building dept. and he is going to get fined. My license qualifies me to get involved but I am looking for advise on rectifying the problem. I want to approach the owner with a plan?

 

[civilperson]

A series of retaining walls and 7 each 180 degree hairpin curves could produce a 7' wide drive at 14% grade. The centerline distance is 340' and the inner radius curve is 6.5'. This is undriveable unless using a short wheelbase golfcart or jeep.

 

[BigH]

Why not park the vehicles at the bottom and use a "chair lift" to get people to the top?

 

[655321]

How about positioning the parking and garage below the house into the side of the hill, this would eliminate 10' of fall or so. Build steps up to the house or first floor from there. Also, combine this with meandering the road as much as possible across the 40'. If you do both you may get the road grade down to a more reasonable 20%, yeah its still pretty steep, but 15-17% is accepted in most jurisdcitions I work in, and you are in a "jungle" after all.

 

[mahalo]

So far the chairlift is the easiest idea i've heard and the funniest too. The parking garage is a great idea but i need to make a road so i can haul material up to build the house on the upper flat lot. We should be able to push boulders and dirt from the road area to the flat lot and achieve 17% or less. What is the sequence in arrangeing the personnel needed? Do we get a topo survey first then get a geotech to analyze the soil? How is it usually done? Can one organization do it all and tell us if it's feasible?

 

[Civil3]

The garage idea is good but that will still leave you with a 26% grade assuming you are not meandering the drive. It might be worth looking at the legal aspect of building something this steep. Will you be liable when little Johnny loses control of Mom's hummer at the bottom of the drive? That being said, I would certainly have a topo survey done so you have a grasp of the material volume that needs to come out. Soil samples should be taken to detrmine bearing capacity and your road sub-base can then be designed. You may want to toy with the idea of having a small crane on site set up on level area lower than the final building location. This would allow a lesser grade for the trucks delivering material.

 

[LHA]

Check local Zoning. Here in PA, USA, it is pretty universally prohibited to disturb slopes over 20%. Yes, you can sometimes - and sometimes you can not - get relief from this. But you want to know that before you begin what is sure to be an expensive design.

Engineering is the practice of the art of science - Steve

 

[ptmoss]

How big is the the house lot up above? Is there room for the driveway to come into it in a 'cut' situation and loop around to add length? And to increase the starting grade going into the 135' "road" section by filling in the lower lot? The house could also have a lower level garage, which would also save 7 or 8 feet in elevation change.

Any way you look at it I don't see it being inexpensive so I hope the views are worth it. And you shouldn't bother getting too much further without an accurate survey.

 

[mahalo]

The lot above is huge and there is room to cut like you suggest. As well as, increase the starting grade. I appreciate your input, Do you know where i can get a BMP (best management Plan) manual?

 

[LHA]

BMP = Best Management Practices.

Most states have there own, so check HI first.

But PA, uSA's is here:

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/depu...tormwaterManagement/Announcements/default.htm

Several other US states' are here:

http://www.yorkccd.org/E&S/post_construction_stormwater_bmp.htm

Engineering is the practice of the art of science - Steve