Roads
Hashknife and Schoolhouse Roads were built in
the period 1992 to 1995 and are 22’ wide. The upper part of the
Homestead Road was moved north from the original road to the
Homestead (date unknown) and is only 12 feet wide. After at least
ten years of homeowner traffic and heavy trucks bringing cement and
rock to build houses, the roads are holding up well.
On November 1, 2007, the ranch manager and one
owner dug test holes next to the paved roads in six places to see
what base underlay the roads. In summary, the base is not ideal (6”
of aggregate) but is adequate. Following are the
locations excavated and the layers of material found from the top
layer down to the underlying soil. The composition of the access
roads is included at the bottom of the table as reported by the
ranch manager.
|
Location |
Top Layer |
2nd Layer |
3rd Layer |
4th Layer |
|
Schoolhouse by Lot 5 – west side |
2” asphalt overlay (added 2002)* |
2” original asphalt |
6” grey soil** |
4” gravel*** |
|
Hashknife between Lots 12 and 13 – east
side**** |
2” asphalt overlay (added 2002)* |
2” original asphalt |
6” poor gravel |
|
|
Hashknife – east bridge approach –
south side**** |
2” original asphalt |
3 ½” to 4” gravel |
6” brown soil |
Pitrun fill***** |
|
Hashknife by Lot 15 – east side |
2” original asphalt |
4” mixed gravel and pit run |
|
|
|
Hashknife – between lots 18 and 19 –
west side |
1 ½” original asphalt |
2” gravel |
2” pit run |
|
|
Homestead by Lot 12 – south side |
1 ½” original asphalt |
4” gravel |
|
|
|
North Access Road |
¾” inches of gravel |
|
|
|
|
South Access Road |
Large gravel
(1 ½” to 2” stones). Depth varies. |
¾” gravel |
Mix of cinders and gravel |
|
|
Barn Road****** |
4” of gravel (3/4” or less) |
Pit run |
|
|
*The asphalt overlay on the Phase 1 roads (Lot
2 to Lot 14) was applied in 2002.
**The grey soil layer by Lot 5 is probably from
the original pond excavation
***Gravel means stones smaller than ¾ inch.
“Poor gravel” means gravel mixed with “pit run” (larger stones – up
to 3-4 inches). Stones under ¾” are preferred for road bases.
****Hashknife between Lots 12 and 13 is raised like
a low causeway and was probably built to higher standards than other
road sections. Similarly on the bridge approach.
*****No evidence of geotextile fabric was found
on the bridge approach or anywhere else.
******The road to the barn was rebuilt and
crowned in 1998. The ranch manager generally adds gravel to it
every year.
Road Photo Gallery
It is not as easy to pick out the road layers
from photos as it was on-site. But the photos do help give a
sense of the road bases. Some road surface photos appear below
as well.
[photogallery/photo00006334/real.htm]
Return to Ranch Operations
