"Problem is the solution" - Ways to apply this to ruts formed in steep hillside road?

Context: my land has a dirt road that takes a fairly direct path up to the ridgetop. Very approximately 15% grade overall, more in places. There has been no work done in many years to mitigate water runoff down the road. It's a humid place with large storms every year, so there are now many long, deep ruts on the road. It's only passable with great care in a 4x4.

I'm learning a lot about how i might divert runoff and do other things to stop rutting long-term. My current takeaway is that i should start at the top of the road and use diversion bunds leading to swales, and other mechanisms to get water off the road before it starts gaining momentum. And observe the road during heavy rainfall to better understand the hydrology. However i'm setting those specifics off to the side for now, which leads me to the question of the thread...

Actual question: how can i apply the principle of "the problem is the solution" to these ruts (small canyons?), some of which are a foot and a half deep and 20 feet long?

The instant naive "solution-finding" answer would seem to be "you fill them in with rocks and dirt to bring them to level so you can drive over them".

I think that may well be the best answer in the case of the ruts that are located right where the wheels of a truck heading up the road would naturally go. But there are other ruts that are more off to the side of the road.

My idea: treat the suitably-located ruts as water-dug trenches – into them i can transplant some spreading ground cover plants that currently have foot-long roots, filling in around them with garden soil. The idea being that they will spread from there to cover more parts of the road, giving further stability to the road. This would all need to come after i've done road remediation work uphill so that the transplants and garden soil aren't washed away by a couple of storms.

I expect this idea has some flaw(s) in it. How can you imagine using these mini-canyons to your advantage?

What exactly is the problem/solution you are trying to deal with? Is the problem that the road is too steep? Is it that the canyons make it impossible to drive? Or is it that you want to make the mini-canyons work for your advantage?

It seems to me that a road that runs straight to the top of a ridge at a 15% grade is always going to be a problem and there is no real solution for it other than to build a new road that has switchbacks. A problem like that is basically a problem with planet earth. You aren't going to solve it, you just have to go around it. Unless you want to get into strip mining and just cut the whole mountain top off and haul everything away on a train. I do not recommend this, but it would resolve your steep grade problem and your runoff problem.

If you are willing to have mini-canyons on your road, and you are just trying to figure out how to make the best of them, I would say your initial idea about diversions and swales is probably in reverse. Make the diversions and swales move water towards your road, so it will all run down one main "canyon" and then find a good contour in the land to catch all the water into a pond. This way the canyons work for you to keep your pond full. Use the pond for all sorts of permie purposes, and now you have a pond! Then if you need a road, build a different one somewhere else on a much lower incline.

The road going straight up a 15% grade is always going to be a problem. There is no "solution" for this.

As a road builder in the past I can make some comments that may help;
- when water travels at about 3 ft a second it has enough speed to carry soil away.
- that is what is creating the small canyons.
- the wheel ruts are caused by the movement of the trucks and slowly is grinding the soil away.
- planting is the wheel ruts will not do anything because of the vehicle weight which will grind any vegetation away.
Starting at the top is an excellent idea, since it will reduce the volume of water coming down the roadway.
Some ideas each of which will take effort and money at different levels.
- as suggested create a new road which works with the land.
- create a 'crown' on the road so water flows away from the road all the length of the road
- build a road base starting with suitable rock.
- crowning the road should not cause an erosion problem on the side as long as any water does not gather into a stream, there are separate solutions to that issue.
Some questions;
- how long is this road?
- Is cash too tight?
- Is there a quarry nearby?
- can a contractor be employed?

Photos would help also.

Liam Hession wrote:I'm learning a lot about how i might divert runoff and do other things to stop rutting long-term. My current takeaway is that i should start at the top of the road and use diversion bunds leading to swales, and other mechanisms to get water off the road before it starts gaining momentum. And observe the road during heavy rainfall to better understand the hydrology.

To me, this is the "Problem is the solution".

I feel what you are doing is the best solution.

Work your way down the hill doing what you have been doing.

This is not an overnight fix though it will get the water off the road gradually.

Creating some terraces on the road might also help.

Thank you all for the replies. I've noted down the ideas you shared.

One point i could have made clearer: i thought i might plant in the trenches which are on the edge of the road already, not in places where truck wheels would be traveling often.

If i did commit to clearing trees for a more gradual, more switch-backed road, i agree that redirecting water from the tail end of the various canyons, into a pond, would be a lovely way of working with the "problem" instead of against it.

I will be back at the hill in about a week and expect to take some pictures and do some more brainstorming to share.

So i'm back at my hill and did a little bit of work today on a bund to redirect the topmost run's water. Here are some pictures of that work. I have plenty of rocks everywhere, so i started stacking rocks in the flow path, and putting dirt over them.

I think maybe i did the redirect angle a bit too acute, curious about how others think it all looks.

Also, anyone have tips on the simplest way to check the level of all this? Luckily i've got rains coming Wednesday/Thursday, so whatever i accomplish will get a real-world test.

Here's a few more photos of other stretches of the road if anyone's curious to see them.

One shot shows how some big rocks have been exposed in the canyons – maybe that could be one way i get something useful from this: i get some rocks i can use for projects, without much digging.