How much does a gravel driveway cost in Louisiana?

For a Louisiana gravel driveway, 2026 national cost guides give $1 to $10 per square foot. One guide puts the installed price, rock plus labor, at $4 to $10 per square foot. On a driveway 100 feet long and 10 feet wide, that guide lands at $4,000 to $10,000.

The rock itself runs $10 to $50 per ton in national guides. Crushed limestone lists at $30 to $38 a ton, delivered. Another guide puts a long rural drive of 2,000 square feet at $3,500 to $6,000 and up.

These are published figures, and our own number comes after we see the ground. We price gravel driveways we build around Rayville on site, and that estimate is free.

What does driveway rock cost per ton and per yard?

One national guide puts a cubic yard at 1.4 to 1.5 tons of stone. Its prices below include delivery for rock up to 2 inches.

A second national guide lists crushed limestone at $30 to $40 a ton.

How many tons and truckloads does a 12 foot driveway take?

Most gravel driveways go down in two layers. One national guide describes a 3 to 4 inch base of crusher run or crushed stone. A 2 to 3 inch top layer goes over it. It sets 5 to 6 inches as the minimum total, and 8 to 12 inches for trucks or RVs.

The table builds a 12 foot driveway two ways. Each has a 2 inch top over a 4 or 8 inch base. The deeper base is for soft ground and trucks.

Tons use 1.4 per cubic yard. Truckloads use the 12 to 20 tons that one guide gives for a 10-wheel dump truck.

Rock cost uses one guide’s delivered prices. Crusher run is priced at $25 to $50 a ton, and crushed stone at $30 to $60. The column covers rock only, before labor. That guide also says to order 10 to 15 percent extra, which the table leaves out.

Limestone, crushed concrete or gravel: which works best on a Louisiana driveway?

Angular rock locks together when it is packed. One national guide calls crushed stone over a crusher run base the best driveway rock. It warns against pea gravel and river rock as the main surface. Smooth stones shift under tires and leave ruts.

• Crushed limestone. That guide calls 3/4 inch to 1 inch crushed stone ideal for the top. The cheapest limestone grade, #411, runs from 3/4 inch rock down to fine dust.
• Crushed concrete. Old concrete gets crushed and recycled. One guide lists it among the cheapest stones and says it lasts as long as natural stone. Prices run $11 to $53 a ton, so ask the supplier which grade you are getting.
• Gravel. Here that means rounded rock such as pea gravel or river rock. One guide says pea gravel suits walkways better than driveways, and it advises against rock over 2 inches.

Crusher run is crushed stone mixed with sand and stone dust, and one guide says it compacts extremely well. We match the base rock and the depth to your ground and traffic on the estimate.

What changes the price of a gravel driveway in Louisiana?

• Length and width. One guide says size moves the total most. Single-car driveways run 10 feet wide, so a 12 foot driveway takes 20 percent more rock.
• Base depth on soft clay. Wet clay pumps up into rock laid right on it. A federal gravel roads guide says that weakens new rock very quickly.
• Rock type and haul distance. USGS lists crushed stone among the minerals Louisiana produces. Distance from the quarry or rock yard still sets the haul. Guides say rural sites can pay more for delivery. One adds $10 for each mile past the first 5.
• Clearing the route first. One guide lists clearing brush or trees at $500 to $2,000. For wooded ground, see our guide to land clearing cost per acre in Louisiana.
• Grading. Shaping the sub-grade runs $1 to $3 per square foot in one guide.
• The entrance culvert and ditches. Culverts or drains add $500 to $2,000 in one guide. The pipe under the entrance follows the rules of whoever owns the road. Our drainage and culvert installation work handles that end of the job.
• Geotextile fabric. A federal gravel roads guide lays fabric on weak soil to separate it from new rock. It suggests at least 6 inches of rock in the first layer over fabric.
• Access. Challenging terrain raises labor costs 20 to 50 percent in one national guide.

What does Louisiana add to a gravel driveway job?

Delta clay under the driveway

Parts of the Northeast Louisiana Delta sit on Sharkey clay, a soil of the Mississippi River flood plain. USDA places its type location in Madison Parish, near Tallulah. USDA describes Sharkey soils as poorly drained and very slowly permeable. Rain that cannot soak in has to run off the top.

A crown sheds that water. A federal gravel roads guide recommends a rise of about 1/2 inch per foot, roughly 4 percent. On a 12 foot driveway, the center sits about 3 inches above each edge.

A driveway onto a state highway

LA DOTD regulates driveway connections on the State Highway System. For a home or a non-commercial farm, the request starts with the district Permit Specialist or a residential permit form. The specialist visits the site and picks the safest spot for the entrance. DOTD then issues an Access Connection Permit Certificate for construction.

A driveway off a parish road

Parish roads follow parish rules. Lincoln Parish, for one, has a permit policy for new home driveways and culverts in its road right-of-way. It applies outside town limits, and the parish road superintendent sets the culvert size and grade. You or your contractor buy the pipe, and a contractor-set culvert gets inspected before backfill.

Other parishes write their own rules, so check with yours. We check which rules apply to your entrance before we start.

Before any digging

Louisiana law requires notice to Louisiana 811 at least 48 hours before mechanized excavation, weekends and holidays excluded. LDEQ’s small construction stormwater permit covers sites that disturb one acre up to less than five acres. A 500 foot driveway 12 feet wide covers 6,000 square feet, about 0.14 acre. Clearing and a house site built at the same time add to the disturbed ground.

How is a gravel driveway priced?

A gravel driveway job usually splits into two parts. The quarry or rock supplier delivers the rock by the ton, plus the haul. The contractor bills the prep, spreading, crowning and packing.

One national guide puts labor at about half the total cost. It lists $30 to $100 an hour per worker. The same publisher lists spreading alone at $10 to $25 per cubic yard.

That is the split we work in. The supplier’s truck brings the rock to your property. We prep the sub-grade, then spread, crown and pack the rock with a compact track loader. Some driveways need a dozer or a roller crew, and we tell you when that is the case.

Grading under the rock is part of our site preparation and dirt work. Longer interior roads and trails fall under our roads, driveways and access work.

What should you have ready for a gravel driveway estimate?

• The route. Length from the road to the house or camp, and the width you want.
• The traffic. Cars only, or loaded trucks and trailers.
• The entrance. State highway or parish road, with photos of the road ditch.
• The ground. Low spots that hold water, and any trees in the path.

Building a new homesite too? Our house pad cost guide covers the pad.

Big Cypress Land and Game is based in Rayville and builds gravel driveways across Northeast Louisiana. Estimates are free and done on site. Call (318) 235-7597 to set one up.