Storm Drain at End of Driveway
I have a small storm drain at the end of my driveway that was built by the town. The drain opening is 2'x2' and it looks to be about 2' deep. Like all the other storm drains in my neighborhood, mine is built from cinder blocks using very little mortar. Mine is the last in the run so I have one pipe leading away and no pipes leading in.
All of the storm drains like this on my town only last about 5 years before they start to crumble. By year 10 they are starting to collapse. The highway department does a crappy job repairing them and an even worse job repairing the asphalt on top. I'm not 100% sure why they fail so soon. Perhaps the salt eats away at the cinder blocks or maybe because they most likely didn't pour a footing.
Normally I wouldn't care too much, but I am expanding my driveway this summer. One side of the drain will touch the road, the other three sides will be bordered by my new driveway. After spending thousands of dollars, the last thing I want is to have to patch my driveway several years down the road.
Yes, I know I run the risk of pissing off the town, but I want to do the work because their workers clearly don't care about workmanship (I also know this because I used to work for them).
This is a small job so I know I can do it, but I want to make sure I do the best job possible. My plan is to dig down three feet, pour a footing, and build the four walls using cinder blocks. Then backfill with gravel and have the driveway guy pave over everything. My neighbor says that I should use Belgian blocks because salt won't eat away at them.
Do you guys have any suggestions?