Gravel Driveways in Terre Haute, IN
Terre Haute has thousands of older lots, and a lot of their drives are past saving: concrete that has broken into plates, stone that went to mud years ago, a side drive to a garage nobody has parked in for a decade. Travis takes out what is there and builds a stone drive that drains, on a base that holds.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Gravel Driveways in Terre Haute
A city of old drives
Terre Haute peaked at more than 71,000 people in 1960 and has about 58,000 now, with over 25,000 housing units and more of them sitting empty than in most cities. The housing is old. The drives that came with it are older than the cars on them, and many have reached the point where patching is throwing money at a hole.
That is where the gravel work in the city comes from. A concrete drive broken into tilted plates that is cheaper to replace with stone than to pour again. A side drive to a detached garage that was gravel once and is now a mud strip. A rental with a parking problem. Out on the county roads toward Riley and Prairieton, it is the usual farm lane and acreage drive.
Concrete out, stone in
Replacing a failed concrete drive with gravel is a common Terre Haute job, and it goes in one trip. The excavator breaks the slab, the pieces are loaded and hauled, and the ground underneath is dug to firm clay. That ground is often worse than expected, because water has been getting under the slab for years and softening it.
Then the drive is built: a compacted base of #53 crushed limestone, an INDOT size that packs tight because its fines are left in, and a surface of smaller clean stone, #8 or #11. Concrete removal in Terre Haute covers the tear-out side. On Grade prepares and compacts a base for a new pour as well, but does not pour concrete itself.
The side drive to the garage out back
Older Terre Haute lots are narrow and long, with the garage at the back off the alley or at the end of a drive down the side of the house. That drive is tight between the house and the fence, it collects the roof water from one side of the house, and the ground under it is flat and slow to drain.
The mini excavator fits down most of them. The old surface comes out, the base goes in, and the drive is built with a fall to the lawn side or to a drain, so the roof water does not sit in the stone against the foundation. If the garage is coming down, demolition in Terre Haute takes it first and the drive ends at a parking pad instead.
Flat river-city ground
Terre Haute is on the east bank of the Wabash, and most of the city sits on flat, low ground between the river and the small bluffs on the east side that mark the old floodplain edge. A flat lot does not shed water on its own. A drive on it has to be crowned, and the ground beside it has to be shaped so the runoff has somewhere to go.
Where the yard beside the drive already holds water, the drive will not cure that and the water will find its way into the base. Yard drainage in Terre Haute covers the swales, French drains and buried downspouts that go with it, and the two are often priced as one job because the same machine does both.
City permits, county roads and INDOT
The city says permits are required for work inside the city limits, so for a new or changed drive apron at a city street, the City of Terre Haute Engineering Department is asked before the date is fixed. On a county road outside the city, the Vigo County Highway Department is the office for an entrance and the culvert under it.
US 41 and US 150 and the numbered state roads around the city belong to INDOT. A new entrance onto one of those, or a change to one that exists, needs an INDOT driveway permit approved before work starts. Wabash Avenue, the old US 40 through downtown, went to the city in 2011, which changes who you ask. Nothing is dug until Indiana 811 has marked the buried lines.
Lots, lanes and the figure
On Grade also builds stone parking areas for small businesses and rentals, and the long lanes on acreage out on the Vigo County roads. The commercial site work page covers the lot side of that. Repairs to an existing drive, potholes and soft spots dug out and the run regraded, are the smaller version of the same job.
Travis looks at the ground and gives you one figure with the tear-out, the hauling, the base, the stone and the road end in it. Estimates are free. The Terre Haute page lists the rest of the work here, and the driveway installation page has the method.
Gravel Driveways
New gravel drives cut, based and crowned, plus potholes, soft spots and washouts repaired.
See the serviceTalk to Travis(317) 203-8928
Tell Travis whether it is a concrete drive coming out, a side drive, a lot or a lane. He comes out and gives you one number with the hauling in it.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Concrete replaced with stone. The broken slab out and hauled, a based gravel drive in its place.
- Side drives. Narrow runs to the garage out back, rebuilt with a fall away from the house.
- Parking areas. Stone lots for rentals and small businesses, based to carry traffic.
- County-road lanes. Long drives on acreage, with culvert and entrance done right.
Terre Haute, IN
The biggest city west of Greencastle, 40 minutes down US-40 on the Wabash, with thousands of older lots carrying garages, slabs and sheds past their time.
Town pageAlso in Terre HauteDemolition & Removal in Terre Haute, IN
See the pageAlso in Terre HauteConcrete Removal in Terre Haute, IN
See the pageAlso in Terre HauteYard Drainage & French Drains in Terre Haute, IN
See the pageThe serviceGravel Driveways
New gravel drives cut, based and crowned, plus potholes, soft spots and washouts repaired.
Main service pageTerre Haute and the towns nearby
Terre Haute is forty minutes west of Greencastle and the biggest city On Grade works in. The same tear-outs and drives are done back along US 40 in Greencastle and down I-70 in Cloverdale, with Brazil in between. West Terre Haute, Seelyville, Riley, Prairieton and the Vigo County roads between them are the same trip, and the service area page has the rest of the map.
You get Travis. One crew, first cut to final grade.
You call
You call or send the form. Travis comes out and looks at the job with you, on the ground, rather than pricing it off a photograph.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the finish grading in it.
One crew does it
Then the same crew that quoted it shows up and does the work, first cut to final grade.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled and the ground is graded back so you can pour, build or seed.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full gravel driveways service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (317) 203-8928 and ask Travis, or read the guides.
Is it cheaper to replace a broken concrete drive with gravel in Terre Haute?
Usually, yes. The slab is broken, loaded and hauled, and a based stone drive goes in the same day on most lots. Travis gives one figure for the whole thing. If you want concrete again instead, he prepares and compacts the base for a concrete crew but does not pour.
Can you get a machine down a narrow side drive?
The mini excavator fits down most of them. If a fence panel or a gate has to come off, it goes back on. The old surface comes out, the base goes in and the drive is built with a fall away from the house so roof water does not sit against the foundation.
Do I need a permit for a new drive in Terre Haute?
The city says permits are required for work inside the city limits, and the apron at a city street is the part most likely to need one. Travis checks with the City Engineering Department before the date is set. On a county road it is the Vigo County Highway Department, and on US 41 or a state road it is INDOT.
What stone do you use?
A base of #53 crushed limestone, an INDOT size that packs hard because its fines are left in, compacted on firm ground. The surface is a smaller clean stone, #8 or #11. On the wet, flat ground that covers most of the city, geotextile fabric goes under the base.
Do you do gravel parking lots for a rental or a small shop?
Yes. A stone lot is built like a drive, with a thicker base where the traffic is heavier, crowned or sloped so water leaves it, and shaped at the street so the entrance meets the city's or INDOT's requirements. Tell Travis what will park on it before he prices it.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Gravel Driveways in other towns
Excavation & Site Prep
Sites stripped, cut and graded, ready for the builder.
Learn moreFoundation & Basement Excavation
Basements, crawl spaces and footings dug to grade and backfilled.
Learn moreDrainage, Culverts & Utilities
Water moved off yards and away from foundations; culverts and service lines set.
Learn moreDriveways & Finish Grading
Gravel drives built and crowned; yards finish graded for seed.
Learn moreLand Clearing & Forestry Mulching
Lots and acreage cleared, brush mulched in place.
Learn moreBuilding & Pole Barn Pads
Pads cut, filled and compacted for barns, shops and houses.
Learn moreFree estimate in Terre Haute.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need gravel driveway work in Terre Haute?
Call or text Travis with the address and what you are trying to do.