Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam Driving across dam

Okay...we're building the dam. That means I am watching some guys doing an outstanding job clearing land, digging the key, etc...and seriously thanking the Lord that I didn't do this myself as I had planned. We will be using the dam as a driveway to the house. I had planned to just drive across the emergency spillway (on gravel drive), but I'm now thinking that's not so wise. Gravel would get washed out, driving might promote erosion, times when we wouldn't be able to cross, etc.

What advice would other Pond Bossers offer?

We drive on the tops of dams all the time as it is a shortcut to get across a pasture to check cattle or something. But that is not daily happening. We only drive through the spillway if it is dry. If it is a bit wet, we avoid the spillway as it tracks the spillway up and could cause problems with erosion.

I would search for an alternative route but that may not be an option for you.

We put a simple 18" pipe thru about 4 feet down from the top of the dam as our principal spillway. We got lucky and were able to create an emergency at the other end of the pond, so the dam should never be tested.
Anyway, we brought a full size concrete truck across it with about 1/2 a load, no issues. A large backhoe has passed it several times, along with a couple of 40K loads of rock in a triaxle. In our case, though, the dam in a substantial mass. The roadbed is 20' wide and the pond side is 3:1, the backside 12:1. Having the E-spillway at the opposite end was un unintended bonus when we built it.