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I am going to be oredering gravel for my driveway tomorrow. Not sure
what size to get. Most of the driveway had gravel spread 5 years ago
and it will be getting 1.25" sharp with binder. A new section of road
which is pretty soft I'm thinking needs 2". Maybe with binder too. I
am also considering recycled concrete, but I don't know if it's
available here on the island. Any gravel from off island gets
expensive because of the ferry charges. About $75.00 per load. Anybody
want to weigh in? Tell me what kind or size of gravel I should be
getting? In the new road there is one spot which is especially soft in
the rainy season. Which is pretty long here just north of Seattle. I
am of two minds on how to fix this spot. First, fill with 2" sharp
gravel and then add more as time goes by if the road keeps getting pot
holes from the gravel sinking. Second would be to fire up the backhoe
and dig a hole 4 or 5 feet deep, then fill the hole to about a foot
from the top with rocks that I have collected from my property, top
off with dirt and then 2" gravel. All the rocks I have are rounded so
they may shift over time but I can still add more gravel until they
are stable. I plan on having a yard or so of gravel left over just for
spot filling.

If you have excessive silt content then its best to first put in a lift of fairly large aggregate with no fines, sometimes called large drain rock..as they settle, the space between them will become occupied with the silt from underneath.

On top of that, you want an intermediate layer, down here we usually use what's often referred to as "rejects" or "track rock"...it's typically 1-1/4 minus which means it also has fines.

Finally, you want crushed rock, for smooth ride I suggest 5/8 minus, an inch or more thick.

Potholes form because the road surface is flat, so make sure you have a crown instead, such that water will run off, keeping any fines or clay from becoming plastic....

Also, where the road is built along a hill side, it's imperative to have a definite ditch on the uphill side, in order to keep water from forming a gullue that runs down the center of the roadway, and if the road runs through a "cut" (hillside extending upward on BOTH sides), then there must be a ditch on BOTH sides, otherwise you'll have a freaking lake any time there's a hard rain.

Best way to look at it is, take dirt from where you want the water to go, and place it where you don;t want the water to go, then top it off with progressively finer aggregate, finishing it off with a crown in the center--much easier said than done though, especially if you're in an area where it rains quite a bit during the winter months.