Around Martinsville you’ll find long country drives climbing the wooded hills south of town and short drives on flat lots down in the White River valley. Both fail the same way when they’re built wrong: ruts, potholes, washouts, and stone that disappears into the mud.
A gravel drive lasts when it has three things: a firm subgrade, enough compacted base stone, and a way to shed water. Alchemy Excavation is owned by a licensed Professional Engineer, so drainage is planned into the drive from the start, not added after it washes out.
Build it right once and it stays put.
The most common driveway problems we see around Martinsville:
Each one has a different fix, and more stone on top rarely solves it.
Subgrade cut and shaped, geotextile fabric where soils are soft, compacted base stone, and a surface stone that locks together.
Potholes, ruts, and washouts regraded and rebuilt, with a crown restored so water runs off instead of soaking in.
Driveway culverts sized for the ditch flow, with stone at the inlet and outlet so the entrance doesn't wash out.
Ground sloped away from the house, low spots filled, swales cut where runoff needs a path, and final grade ready for seed.
We fix the subgrade first. A drive is only as good as the soil under the stone.
Crown, side ditches, and water bars on steep drives keep runoff from cutting the driveway.
Base stone is placed and compacted in layers so the drive stays firm under trucks and equipment.
We follow city earth-moving rules inside Martinsville and check road-entrance requirements before we build.
Residential drives, farm lanes, equipment pads, and commercial parking areas across Morgan County.
A well-built drive gives you:
Fixing the base once is cheaper than adding stone every season.
We build gravel driveways and grade lots throughout:
Every drive is built for Indiana soils and rainfall.
Where your driveway meets the road decides who needs to sign off.
Inside Martinsville City Limits – Earth-moving work goes through Martinsville Building Services (59 S Jefferson St, 765-349-4923) for stormwater and erosion review.
County Roads – For a new entrance or culvert on a county road outside city limits, check with the Morgan County Highway Department.
State Roads – A driveway onto a state road such as SR 39, SR 44, SR 67, or SR 252 needs approval from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).
Before We Dig – We call Indiana 811 at least two full working days before any excavation.
It depends on the soil and what will drive on it. On soft valley soils we cut out the soft material and add more base. On firm hillside ground less is needed. We size it after looking at the site.
Usually water. Either it runs down the drive with nowhere else to go, or it soaks into a base that was never built to drain. Adding a crown, ditches, or water bars usually fixes it for good.
Inside city limits, earth-moving work goes through Martinsville Building Services. New entrances onto county roads should be checked with the Morgan County Highway Department, and state roads need INDOT approval. We’ll tell you which applies.
It depends on length, width, how much base the soil needs, and whether a culvert is required at the road. We give a clear written price after a free site visit.
One local crew for the whole job. Here's everything else we do in Martinsville.
All Martinsville services · Grading & gravel driveways across southern Indiana · All service areas
If your driveway ruts, washes out, or holds water, we can rebuild it so it lasts.
Contact Alchemy Excavation today to schedule a free site evaluation and estimate for grading and gravel driveway work in Martinsville.
