Temporary driveway

Abstract

A temporary driveway for new home construction includes one or more removable pre-cast planks. The pre-cast planks are constructed of reinforced pre-cast concrete and are sized to accommodate the passage of vehicles over their surface. The reinforcement is in the form of a row of pre-stressed cables adjacent the top surface and the bottom surface of the plank. Four lift inserts are recessed into the top surface of the plank near each of the corners of the plank to balance the load during lifting. The pre-cast planks are lifted with a standard lifting rig such as a boom crane attached to the lift inserts. The pre-cast planks are transported to a construction site, lifted from the transport vehicle by a standard lifting rig, and placed in a desired location at a new home construction site. Several pre-cast planks are placed end-to-end to form the temporary driveway. When the temporary driveway is no longer needed, the pre-cast planks are lifted and transported away from the construction site.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10 / 917,969 filed on Aug. 13, 2004.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to the construction of driveways and particularly to the construction of temporary driveways used in new home construction. [0003] The driveway provides access to the construction site and is typically one of the first things constructed when a new home is being built. One option that may be used for a driveway in new home construction is to simply put the permanent driveway in place. However, installation of a finished surface such as concrete or blacktop prior to the construction is problematic because construction vehicles such as concrete trucks, hauling trucks, and other equipment can easily damage the finished surface of the driveway. For instance, a finished concrete driveway is typically only four inches thick. While this thickness is adequate for normal traffic assoc...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] In a most preferred embodiment, two rows of pre-stressed cables are provided, one row adjacent the top and bottom surfaces to prevent warping of the slab. With the cables under stress, the concrete is poured, encasing the cables. After the concrete has cured, the cables are released from the anchorages. As each length of plank is cut, the cable tension pulls the plank into compression, which increases the strength and durability of the plank.

[0015] In a further feature of the invention, the temporary driveway is provided with a lifting system. The lifting system facilitates transport and placement of the temporary driveway at desired locations, without obstructing the top surface of the temporary driveway. Preferably, the lifting system includes at least two lifting points at a front portion of the pre-cast plank and at least two lifting points at a rear portion of the body. In this way, the temporary driveway can remain level and balanced as it is lifted, transported, or lowered.

[0023] It can be appreciated that the present invention contemplates a temporary driveway that can be used for new home construction sites. The temporary driveway is reinforced to endure the heavy traffic associated with new home construction. In addition, the temporary driveway includes features that facilitate transportation to and from a desired location. These features of durability and portability allow the temporary driveway to be used, stored, and reused as needed. This greatly simplifies and hastens the process of constructing a driveway. When a new home is being constructed, the temporary driveway can be transported and placed at the construction site at the start of construction, and removed when construction is completed.

[0024] It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novel, efficient, and economical apparatus and method of forming a temporary driveway. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a temporary driveway that alleviates problems associated with the driveways that are traditionally used in new home construction. For instance, the temporary driveway eliminates the hassles of a gravel driveway including: placing the gravel, keeping the gravel in its intended location, and removing the gravel after it is no longer needed.

[0025] Another object of the present invention is to provide a temporary driveway that is sturdy enough to handle heavy equipment and high traffic volume associated with new home construction. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a temporary driveway that can be pre-cast off-site before construction begins with the capability of being lifted and transported to and from a construction site when needed.

Problems solved by technology

However, installation of a finished surface such as concrete or blacktop prior to the construction is problematic because construction vehicles such as concrete trucks, hauling trucks, and other equipment can easily damage the finished surface of the driveway.

While this thickness is adequate for normal traffic associated with residential property, it is likely not sufficient for construction traffic.

However, there are problems commonly associated with this form of driveway.

One problem is that the placement of the gravel can be time consuming.

Another significant problem is water drainage.

However, a gravel drive cannot be similarly prepared.

If water drainage is not controlled, water that pools on the surface can wash away gravel.

Moreover, improper water runoff often creates serious problems including flooding in areas that are not capable of handling the excess water.

Another common problem of gravel driveways is keeping the gravel in the temporary driveway during heavy construction traffic.

Traffic over the gravel can cause the gravel to disperse and spill past the boundaries of the driveway into the yard.

Keeping the gravel in its intended location can be a time consuming and labor intensive job.

Gravel that has been displaced into the yard can pose a hazard where gravel is buried when the lawn is prepared.

The removal of the gravel after it is no longer needed poses another problem.

In this case, some or all of the gravel will have to be removed and the driveway re-graded to prepare for the new concrete or asphalt driveway which adds time, labor, and expense to the construction process.

Similar problems arise in other construction projects where a temporary driving or parking surface is needed.

In most cases, a temporary gravel surface is prepared, which poses the problems mentioned above.

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