We are on shut-down at the Mine right now and the roads have "deteriorated" to say the least. Is there anything a Grader can do with Mud? I make a point of asking as many questions to the old hands as I can and I have had mixed answers. Some say there is nothing constructive that can be done while others mention "spreading" it out over the road surface to "dry out"? I am mainly concerned with helping the mechanics/electricians find a relatively smooth way into the Shovels/Drills without the ability to call for material.
Welcome to HEF Shamrock. Hard to make a good road out of mud. Yes, you can spread it out to dry but when it rains it just gets muddy again. If you could spread it out and after it drys cover it with a coat of gravel would be your best bet. Is there no base to the road at all? Just all mud? Might be okay if it's dry enough to shape to a crown and compacted so the water will run off. Hard to tell not seeing what you're up against.
back it out to each side. dry it pullin it back in, bladin it back and forth. may have to remix and set up. fine grade it. roll it. and put the rock that required to be put on it. and then pave it.
I'm thinking pavement wouldn't hold up too well with 200 ton rock trucks pounding it out =p If you are only concerned about getting mechanics in and out just make a single pass and stick your windrow on the low side. Make sure you back up and cut a notch every so often for the water to get through as it will collect along your windrow. As for opening the whole road, if you are SURE it wont rain again you just start right down the middle and wing all the mud off each side into a windrow. Make sure you get it far enough off that you can still maintain a small ditch if it did rain again before you have it spread out and dry again. It also helps to sideshift the table and cut a drainage notch here and there. What I will do is skim it all off to the side and then make one more pass using just the corner of my blade to cut a bit of a V ditch along the windrow for water to stay off the road. The big problem with blading roads before it's finished raining is that now you have a channel (the road) between the two windrows which just collects more water and makes more mud to deal with. After the road is open you can start grabbing a bit of the windrow every time you start a new pass and spreading it out over the road. It won't take very long at all to dry it back out! Adding a little extra tilt to the blade to "roll" the dirt more and mix it with the dry you are cutting helps a lot too.