How Far Does A Load Of Base Go?

By David Petersen

Not As Far As You’d Think. Well the answer is... not very far. The biggest load we can get is 24 tons, which is 17 cubic yards. When you spread that across the roadway, to a depth of 3 inches, it only covers about 60 linear feet, with some feathering at the edges. A 3" layer is the minimum, and sometimes it's up to 6" depending on the potholes and how much crown is needed.

This photo shows an entire 17 cubic yard load dumped near the St Joe mailboxes.

Based on calculations of a 3" gravel spread for all 25+ miles of roads in SLE, it would require approx. 2,500 truckloads. Not every road needs a full layer of gravel, but they all have "hotspots" that need attention. The Board is working toward mapping those areas for future repairs.

We'll be driving every road over the next few days, identifying problem areas. It may be Spring before we can address them. We're up against a winter weather hard stop ... the fact that we could still spread gravel in early December is quite remarkable; usually by now we have a layer of snow and we change our focus from grading gravel, to plowing snow.

We're also up against budgetary limits. Every dump load costs us about $500 by the time it's delivered and spread. So, if we find 20 hotspots, math tells us we're facing a $10,000 bill.