What to do with a VERY steep, 2,000 foot dirt driveway?

[Charlie MacPherson]

This is for my personal home that we purchased in February, 2017.

The driveway is 2,000 feet long.  The first 500 feet are flat and shared with a neighbor.  No issues there except a few potholes that need to be filled.

Once past that point, it goes up at about a 12% grade for about 250 feet, then goes into an s-turn, then goes up at another 12% grade for another 100 feet or so.  Then it goes up at a slight grade for another 150 feet, make a downhill u-turn as it heads toward our house.  The last stretch is level.

The problem is that the topsoil keeps washing away, leaving exposed rocks, ranging from golf ball to softball size.  Also, we are getting serious washboarding on the steep parts.  UPS and FedEx deliveries are really doing a number, as is my wife's pickup truck.

I expect that normal paving will be cost prohibitive at the $100,000 range - not to mention that we're in Massachusetts and will get several feet of snow and ice each winter, so a smooth, paved surface will be too slick to be safe.

Right now I plow the snow with a 4WD ATV.  I don't think I'm tearing up the road very much.

Before you write me off as nuts, there's a lot we love about the property.  We overlook a pond and cranberry bog, have two barns, 5 sheds and a cottage that I commandeered for my real estate office.  We're in 5 acres of forest, surrounded by 30 acres of conservation - so no, we're not selling it!

But that driveway... what to do with it?  Any sage advice from BP Land?

[Matthew Paul]

ok , first look in your area for someone that sells asphalt millings . When you spread them in the summer they will tighten up almost like asphalt . Sounds like you have some property , find yourself a 35 hp tractor/loader with a 3 point hitch .Get a land plane or grade boz for the back . You use this to regrade the drive when necessary . You can adjust the box on the back to keep a crown on the road . Plus the loader with a scraper blade on the rear will dig out the drive in heavy snow . You could even get a rear mounted snowblower .  

I have 600 ft of gravel drive and I regrade it 3 times a year . i use a tractor for that and so much more