On Sep 1, 7:02?am, Paul Franklin
wrote:
On Sat, 01 Sep 2007 06:30:55 -0400, lanman wrote:

I have a rental property in need of a driveway. The property borders
wetlands, thus, the ground is very soft in the spring. I would like to
install an asphalt driveway, but I'm afraid it would fail in a short
amount of time due to ground conditions.

I am wondering if I could do the driveway in two phases. The first
phase would be to dig out the soft ground and fill with gravel or
other suitable material for the base. In the spring after the winter
thaw, if the ground settles, I can top off the base with additional
gravel and re-compact. Phase two would be to lay the asphalt after
all/most of settling had stopped. Is this feasable? Thanks...

Sounds like a reasonable plan. You may have to remove a lot of soil.
You want to get the topsoil off and any soil with organic material
content since it will eventually decompose. They make geotextile
fabric (kind of weed block on steroids) that you should lay down
before the gravel to help keep the base from sinking into the soil.
If the finished height can be somewhat above the surrounding ground
level that will help with drainage, and you may need drains along the
sides to keep water out of the base. Start with large size gravel on
the bottom. Spread and compact the gravel in no more than about 4"
thick lifts or it won't compact well.

You need a good asphalt contractor that knows how to build a good base
in wet areas.

Good luck,

Paul F.

if the area freezes use drain pipe to get any water away from under
and in the gravel.

on initial dig out go very deep and use lots of gravel.

see how it looks in the spring, if it moves a lot then go with tar and
chip.