River/Creek Crossings

[Wind Gypsy]

I have a small "river" that splits my property. when I purchased the property last august the main shallow crossing point could be crossed with waterproof ankle high hiking boots. Right now most of the crossing is about 18" deep. The bottom is made up of pea to basketball sized rocks.

I have good neighbors and 2 of them have been great about letting me access this side through their pasture but I'd like to have a contingency plan if driving equipment through their property becomes a problem or I feel like I'm impeding too much.

I don't like the idea of bridges too much as I feel like there might be some permit implications and I'd worry about things getting destroyed in flood years.

Main question: are you folks aware of any kind of metal product that could be laid on the bottom and serve as a better surface to drive over? In my mind this might avoid permit requirements and be a more stable path to drive over.

I'm guessing the crossing (at water levels where I'd actually cross it) is 45' or less.

 

[bigboreblr]

how wide is the crossing. Legally in NY you need a bridge.

Almost anything can be used to disperse the force (pounds vs sufrace area). Anything you can lay alongside the creek, including logs and pipes.

The rocky part is likely the leasty of your concerns, it usually getting in and out of the muddy bank. An area widened out, cover with decent sized stone ,and then the entrance and exit covered in fabric mat and stone would work great. Ive crossed alot places when I used to play offroad in my S10 years ago, the begining, and end is the complication in rocky areas.

Also keep in mind what your dragging behind you at that period of time.........

 

[35-acre]

Just spit-balling here.
Can you leave something out there to keep on the shore that you can get yourself across with?

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I've had good luck with crossings made with a 6" thick base of rock that is in the 2-6" diameter range. Those are for much smaller seasonal creek type crossings, but they look natural and so far haven't washed away even during flood events. I've had 2 different dirt/rock moving guys recommend the same thing.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I walked across it on saturday in waders. I'll probably be able to comfortably drive an ATV across in less than a month. My concern is getting something I can drive a compact tractor across.

For reference, this is what it looked like last august:



This is from a week ago:



Based upon drought conditions last year and the fact that river will always be higher in spring, my concern is being able drive a compact tractor across when it's somewhere between the two pictures which would be typical for planting times.

 

[PatinPA]

I'm pretty sure changing anything in a stream is illegal in most states. My company looked into a bridge for a farmer a long time ago. To meet all requirements by all the state agencies it was wildly expensive and that was 10 years ago. Timber companies can use temporary bridges made out of telephone poles and rail road ties. Not sure why you wouldn't be able to build a "temporary" bridge there. As long as you could move it if someone happened to find out about it.

 

[Dogshooter]

I’d wait till the water is low again and have a dozer do some minor shaping to what you have. Looks like plenty of rock there to hold up a compact tractor if it was leveled off some.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I would add a couple marker posts on each side, level it off some, and send it.

 

[bigboreblr]

A little rock picking in the food plot will fill that hole up just nicely.

 

[buckdeer1]

We put in low water crossings basically lay a couple culverts and then pour a drive that dips in the middle so water goes through culverts when low and over when higher

 

[Big Nasty]

I had a guy with a big track loader (CAT 963 size) clear a primitive road back into my place. While doing so, he sheared off some big limestone rocks. They were about as big as his loader bucket and probably 10-16” thick. He spent probably 3-4 hours digging out a little deeper in the actual creek basin and then laid those rocks down with precision. Also leveled out the approaches from both sides. Can drive across easy now with all kinds of equipment, trucks with dump trailers, etc. That portion of his work probably cost me $800 and was one of the better expenses / investments I’ve made on my place.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

The latest thing being done in creek crossings in northern Missouri is to put a telephone pole on the downstream side of the crossing moving perpendicular to the stream. Driving rebar through the pole will hold it in place. And it serves as a rock catch.

I have no idea if it works or is even legal, but I've heard many have done it in the last few years.

 

[sandbur]

I have struggled with trying to find a legal way to make a ditch/creek crossing for 30 years. I don’t think there is a legal way in Minnesota.

Exception, in some counties, true farmers that need an access to their fields get away with some things. A neighbor slowly built a roadway across a wetland with field rock. It worked and is still there.

I couldn’t get away with that in my situation.


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[4wanderingeyes]

I was wondering if these makeshift crossings were permitted, or even discussed with authorities. But I figured it was best not to ask.

 

[Apple Junkie]

I am all ears on this subject.

My creek is fickle, sometimes gentle, other times it’s a beast. I supposedly have two fords, one for equipment (tractor) the other for only a quad. According to the County soil and water supervisor, I am allowed to maintain a ford with few restrictions, but that is easier said than done without heavy equipment. Soil and Water is willing to build a rock weir to stabilize the ford bank from constantly washing out (cost share), but getting the funding and then getting on the schedule has proven difficult over the past 2 years. So far, I know placing logs in front of the ford entrance/exit helps minimizes the bank erosion, and, Hoyt’s proposal to run poles perpendicular to the upstream flow is a good one if it will hold. Right now, I re-do everything every summer while waiting for a permanent solution.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I am all ears on this subject.

My creek is fickle, sometimes gentle, other times it’s a beast. I supposedly have two fords, one for equipment (tractor) the other for only a quad. According to the County soil and water supervisor, I am allowed to maintain a ford with few restrictions, but that is easier said than done without heavy equipment. Soil and Water is willing to build a rock weir to stabilize the ford bank from constantly washing out (cost share), but getting the funding and then getting on the schedule has proven difficult over the past 2 years. So far, I know placing logs in front of the ford entrance/exit helps minimizes the bank erosion, and, Hoyt’s proposal to run poles perpendicular to the upstream flow is a good one if it will hold. Right now, I re-do everything every summer while waiting for a permanent solution.

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Just to be clear, the telephone pole would go on the downstream side of the path as it crosses the creek. In other words, if you are facing the stream and it flows from right to left, the pole would run parallel to the path (perpendicular to the stream), on the far left side of the path. If you were to put this on the upstream side, you would get washouts ahead of the path and then in the banks as water tries to move around the pole. Rebar would be drilled through the pole and into the bedrock to hold the pole in place.

 

[PatinPA]

I am all ears on this subject.

My creek is fickle, sometimes gentle, other times it’s a beast. I supposedly have two fords, one for equipment (tractor) the other for only a quad. According to the County soil and water supervisor, I am allowed to maintain a ford with few restrictions, but that is easier said than done without heavy equipment. Soil and Water is willing to build a rock weir to stabilize the ford bank from constantly washing out (cost share), but getting the funding and then getting on the schedule has proven difficult over the past 2 years. So far, I know placing logs in front of the ford entrance/exit helps minimizes the bank erosion, and, Hoyt’s proposal to run poles perpendicular to the upstream flow is a good one if it will hold. Right now, I re-do everything every summer while waiting for a permanent solution.

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Do you think they would let you armor the bank with some rip rap? Might be a better, more permanent solution than logs.

 

[bigboreblr]

Some fertilizer / seed bags make decent sand bags, if you need one or two over there.

Even though folks dont visit creeks n river, modern GIS software does flag up noticable changes.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

In my areas of MN and WI the farmers have been dumping field stones for generations in random low spots and creek crossings like that. I wouldn't add any culverts or make any massive changes since that wouldn't be too natural looking, but it wouldn't take too much more rock to have a really solid crossing. You already have a bunch of rock there, so adding a little more won't be too noticeable. It almost looks like you should have enough rock to cross it as it currently is. Crossing water isn't a big deal as long as there is a solid rock base underneath.

 

[sandbur]

In my areas of MN and WI the farmers have been dumping field stones for generations in random low spots and creek crossings like that. I wouldn't add any culverts or make any massive changes since that wouldn't be too natural looking, but it wouldn't take too much more rock to have a really solid crossing. You already have a bunch of rock there, so adding a little more won't be too noticeable. It almost looks like you should have enough rock to cross it as it currently is. Crossing water isn't a big deal as long as there is a solid rock base underneath.

One farm in our neighborhood had an old stock watering pond in a low area. Once they got rid of cattle, they started dumping field rock in it. The story is that they had to pull the rock out.

I didn’t see the situation before or after to verify the story.


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