The Challenge
The winery needed a paved access road to replace a severely eroded dirt road that became impassable during harvest season rains. The road crosses through active vineyard blocks and needed precise grading to manage storm water without directing drainage into the vines. The route included a 12% grade section requiring special paving technique.
Our Approach
The project began with a full survey of the existing road alignment and drainage patterns. We designed a two-directional crown with 2% cross slope throughout, with dip sections before the primary vineyard crossings to capture and direct water to existing drainage channels. The steep 12% section received additional asphalt thickness (4 inches vs 3 inches standard) and aggressive cross-slope to prevent sheeting water from building velocity. All disturbed areas adjacent to the vines were hydroseeded with erosion-control mix.