Questions and Answers

Jim F. asked

on concrete walkways:

How thick should concrete be for traffic?

We plan to make a four inch thick concrete sidewalk for wheel chair use. It needs to cross a gravel driveway in two places. How thick should it be where it will get occasional truck traffic over it? Should it have footers? I’d like an answer from someone with experience in these things.

Hello Jim,

Four inch thick concrete is fine for most walk ways and driveways. If the sidewalk is crossing a gravel drive it will be subjected to uneven forces not encountered in a fully paved drive. Be sure the base soil and gravel are tamped down and very firm. I would consider increasing the depth  to six inches where it crosses the gravel drive with an expansion joint on each side of the drive. With six inches of concrete a full footer is not critical but an apron of concrete around the perimeter will help stabilize it against lateral forces.

Good luck

Tony

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