We had a massive tree destroy part of the driveway. We're lost on what to do. Do we need a retaining wall? Or something else?

This is the side view from the chunk the tree took out:

https://imgur.com/7ddmpZY

This is the top view of the chunk:

https://imgur.com/7RDq2xd

This is from the house (whole is on the left):

https://imgur.com/DRw7c9l

From the last picture, there is a wooded area. We're not sure if there is a retaining wall, because there is a lot of vegetation there.

We understand that we need an asphalt company, but what do we do about the whole?

Any suggestions on what we should do here?

I can take more pics if needed.

Thanks

 

It looks to me like you'd just need to clean out any debris that can decompose, fill with gravel and repave the top.

 

I think compaction is going to be your biggest issue. When you back fill the hole material will have to be laid down in layers and properly compacted, building up the hole layer by layer. This will provide a more stable base to support the driveway. If you just dump dirt in there will be considerable settling and you'll likely have cracking or settling issues with your pavement.

 

Do you think just gravel or gravel + dirt?


How do you suggest we compact & layer the material that we use to fill it? And what material do you suggest we use?

 

Gravel compacts easier than dirt, the main thing is to have the fill compacted where it won't settle later on.

 

First, I wouldn't repave yet.
If that IS a huge tree, then other areas of the driveway will likely crack and settle of the next 2-3 years as the roots rot and the ground settles. It looks like there's already a low spot, so I'd actually start by prepping the soil for repaving in 2-3 years.

That location seems to be at the bottom of a hill, which means drainage, so to fill the hole and avoid having the fill wash away, I'd actually get, eh, about a cubic yard of #1 stone, aka ballast (fits through 4" sieve) AND about a cubic yard of 2A (mix of 2" stone and stone dust).

Alternate- with layers of one wheelbarrow of ballast, one wheelbarrow of 2A stone, spray down with some water, compact (hand tamp, or rent a mechanical tamper) I'd cover the next-to last layer of 2A stone with black tyvek or landscaping fabric, then mound up the rest of the ballast stone to hold the tyvek in place. Shovel the remaining 2A stone in so that it fills in the gaps in the ballast.
If you have access to a nice 400-600 pound landscaping boulder, plunk that on top of the stone mound to compress the stone into the hole.

Another thought is to take four or five segments from ccutting up the base of the tree and stack them on the gravel to weigh it down. You'll probably have to let them dry before splitting anyway, so in the interim you're putting their weight to good use.

You know, given that you seem to be at the bottom of a hill, I'd ALSO consider adding a wheelbarrow of ballast and 2A to the UPSTREAM side of the driveway, then plunk a few boulders or large log rounds on top - purpose is to add gravel to the low point, and ALSO to slow down any water flow so that it doesn't wash out the fill on the downstream side of the driveway.

 

@Hal_S I like your plan. Some of it, I still don't understand, however I wanted to show you this, because my previous pictures may not be clear. So, there is a sloped hill that comes off where that drive way is. See this picture here: https://imgur.com/NBmRKuR

All of that is sloping down hill at 45 degrees (that's an eyeball guess). There was a tree much bigger than the one in this picture down there which fell & took out the chunk of driveway.

With your solution above, how do I contain the material that you & @marksr mentioned, so that it doesn't just slide off down the slope?

 

The material will stay in place as long as you don't have flowing water to wash it away. Think of a pile of stone when it's dumped out of a truck and how steep the sides of the pile are. It can naturally support itself with a slope of about 45-60 degrees. Proper compaction also helps alot. Also, largish stones like ballast and rip rap are often used to stabilized hillsides and embankments.

 

The large #1 sized ballast-sized stone will naturally form a pile with a 45-degree slope. When you dump #1 stone into a pile centered on the hole, some will spill down the hill, but you shouldn't loose that much.
However a few large rocks, or a "wall" of those tree segments should hold it back long enough for the ground to compact.

That's why you'd layer the stone