The driveway we are pricing
A 60 by 12 foot residential driveway on an average Bowl lot: gravelly soil, drains reasonably, old surface stripped to firm ground. New build: 8 inches of pit run base, 4 inches of D-1 top, both compacted. This is the driveway we would build for ourselves. A budget version and a long Eagle River version follow.
Material at the pit
| Layer | Quantity | Pit price | Material cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pit run base, 8 in | about 20 loose yards | $9 per yard | about $180 |
| D-1 top, 4 in | about 10 loose yards (14 tons) | $22 to $30 per yard | about $220 to $300 |
| Material total | about $400 to $480 |
Those are the gate prices at the pit; D-1 varies most between pits. Notice what the table says: the material for a real driveway is a few hundred dollars. The rest is moving it and placing it.
Trucking
Five loads in our 12-ton trucks: three of pit run and two of D-1, the second one light. Delivered per-load pricing in this market is not far off the $500 to $1,000 a 10 to 13 ton load runs nationally including material, with Anchorage toward the top of that because the pits are few. The going hourly rate for an end dump here is around $145. For a Bowl address, budget the trucking at a similar order of magnitude to the material for each load. Our own quote will show trucking as its own line, and the pricing page explains how it is built.
Placing and compacting
If you have a tractor or a skid steer and a weekend, placing is free and compaction is a rented vibratory roller for a day. If you hire it, an operator with a machine for a morning is the third leg of the cost and often equals the trucking. Either way, compact each lift damp; D-1 placed dry and unrolled is money wasted.
The budget version
Same driveway, 6 inches of 3-inch minus at about $11 a yard and no D-1: about 15 loose yards, two loads, material around $165. It will drain and it will drive, and it will need a fresh top every few years and it will never be smooth. If the ground is already gravelly, this is a legitimate choice. If the ground is silt, it is a mistake.
The Eagle River version
A 300-foot valley driveway at 12 feet wide is five times the area: 100 yards of pit run and 45 of D-1, about seventeen loads in our 12-ton trucks. Material runs into the low thousands and trucking similar, and the Eagle River minimum is a full truck, so the whole job is scheduled as a run of loads over a day or two. The Eagle River page explains the access questions we ask first.
What moves the number
- Ground. Silt or peat means stripping and more base; sometimes a foot of pit run before anything else.
- Distance. Hillside, Eagle River and the Valley change the trucking; see service areas.
- Season. Spring restrictions can split loads; see the breakup page.
- Access. A soft approach or a tight turn slows the truck and can mean dumping at the road.
- Finish. RAP or D-1 on top is the difference between a driveway and a gravel patch; the materials guide compares them.
Questions we get about this
Is asphalt much more?
Yes, by a multiple, and it needs the same base under it. Many Anchorage owners build the gravel driveway with a proper D-1 top now and pave it years later on the same base.
Can I do it in one load?
A top-up on an existing base, yes. A new driveway is base plus top, and that is at least two loads at any real depth.
Do you place and compact?
We deliver and can tailgate-spread; placing and rolling is machine work we can point you to. Our quote covers the trucking and material.
Why are your numbers ranges?
Because the pit price of D-1 varies by pit and the trucking varies by address and month. The quote you get from us is a single number for your driveway on your date.