There are allot of variables in making the calculations. Some contractors can cut corners others won't, so you may see a broad price range. Some are hungrier than others. I'm not a professional by any means. That is one long driveway and you better have deep pockets.

First of all, you will need to set grade. That means you need to figure the height of the driveway and you will want it to gently slope at the sides so the rain/snow washes off for drainage. Generally you would have this done with a Cat to plow out and even the grade and establish the drives shape and geometry, particularly if you have curves or a wider spot in between for cars to meet. Someone needs to stake this out for location, width and depth. You will want to fill this with some nice sand and pack it down with a street roller. You will then want to fill the remaining with a limestone mix something like zone 4. You should plan to spread this about 8" thick loose so it can compact down to 6" when the roller goes over it. Depending upon your soil, you may also want about 6" of sand. The sand will compact also. The excess black dirt that the dozer pushed out can be graded back in for the gentle slope along the sides. 1 yard of stone equals 1 1/2 tons. One yard is 27 cubic feet. So for a 10' wide driveway x 6" deep, a yard will go 5.4'. For a 1600' driveway you would need atleast 296 yards of sand. For a 10' wide driveway x 8" deep, a yard will go 4.05' For a 1600' driveway you would need atleast 395 yards of stonemix.

The price of the product depends on your location with regard to the source. The more you get per trip, the cheaper it is. If you have a good access road and a big place for them to turn around, you could get a gravel train to come in. The lead hauls about 27 ton and the pup about 23 tons. That whole rig is big and long(i.e. about 60') and needs lots of room to maneuver. The fifty ton of stone is about 33 yards. That's allot of stone and allot of trips. If you don't have allot of room, you will just get the lead with 27 ton per trip. That is still a big truck. Smaller dump trucks usually are about 15 ton. The weight of all that requires a good road and driveway entrance. Stonemix usually goes for $12.00 to $15.00 per ton delivered if it is about 10 to 15 miles away. Sand is cheaper and also varies with location and availability.

I have no clue as to contractor pricing but know you have a big project ahead that requires big equipment. After it is packed in and in place you will need to fill some spots and may want to use a finer stone later for dressing. You may be able to cut corners on thicknesses depending upon the driveway use and soil conditions. I wouldn't think that you need any barrier. That would slow drainage. To cut corners, you can investigate the use of crushed asphalt as your base and top it with limestone mix (commonly called crushed stone or stonecrete). This stuff has an aggregate of fines that hardens and compacts with pressure and moisture over time to get hard something like concrete. In the early spring it does soften. From allot of traffic the stone will separate and you will need to topdress for appearance. I'd plan on putting a nice turn around someplace in the design that is out of the way that someone can dump a load of stone later for top dressing.

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