Arab Land Clearing & Driveways
Acreage on top of Brindlee Mountain, from Union Hill Road to the Cullman County side, cleared and given a way in that sheds water. Up here the driveway can matter as much as the clearing.
Top of Brindlee Mountain, where the rain picks a side
Arab sits right on the Tennessee Valley Divide. Rain on the north side of town heads for Cotaco Creek or Shoal Creek and on to the Tennessee River. Rain on the south half runs to the headwaters of the Mulberry Fork and the Black Warrior. The Pottsville rock on this mountain is hard and tight, and Brindley Mountain ranks among the places in western Marshall County with the largest runoff rates. The city’s own comprehensive plan lists Wolf Creek, Gilliam Creek, Cranford Branch, Hamby Branch, Shoal Creek and Jones Branch as flood prone. So a driveway or a culvert in this town deserves more thought than it usually gets.
That same plan calls the soil around Arab generally fine sandy loam formed from the sandstone underneath, says a high water table affects most soils on the mountain, and warns that ground steeper than about 10 percent is less suited to building. A tract can look dry on the ridge and still stay soft in the low corner. The plan also says 58 percent of workers living in Arab commute out of town and that US 231 shapes most of the development here. Growth picked up after Redstone Arsenal and Marshall Space Flight Center opened in Huntsville. Put that together and you get a likely buyer: somebody working off the mountain who wants a few acres off Ruth Road, Union Hill Road or Eddy Scant City Road, with a house site set back and a long way in from the pavement.
What grows here
Loblolly and shortleaf pine on pasture left idle, with oak, tulip poplar, blackgum and hickory in older woods. That is the usual mix on sandstone plateau soil of the Hartsells kind.
What the ground does
Fine sandy loam over sandstone. The hard rock throws off runoff quick, and the city’s plan says a high water table touches most soils on the mountain, so low spots can stay soft after the ridge has dried.
Common jobs here
Long chert driveways off county roads, pipe at the road ditch, old fields opened back up for a house site, and access roads across a deep tract.
What Arab land tends to need
Work in and around Arab on both sides of the county line, including Union Grove, Union Hill, Scant City, Joppa and Baileyton.
Chert driveways off the side roads
A chert and gravel drive built up with a crown, so runoff leaves the road instead of following it down. Our own dump trucks bring the stone in.
Culverts where the divide sends water
Pipe set at the road ditch or a wet crossing. Arab’s subdivision rules call for at least 15 inches under a driveway, and we check what applies to your road before it goes in.
Old pasture back in use
Young pine and brush taken off a mountain field and mulched in place, with the trees you pick left standing.
Roads to the back of the tract
A way back to a house site or shop that can carry a loaded truck, laid out to keep water off the road surface.
The work
Pictures on this page are Suttles & Sons’ own, never stock. More go up as jobs finish, including ground like the top of Brindlee Mountain.
White and yellow dump truck tipping a load on a wide red dirt site.
Red truck door lettered Suttles and Sons.
Black dump truck parked with yellow equipment behind it.
City hall, the county line and the state highway each get a say
Arab’s Building Department says a building permit is required to erect, enlarge, alter or repair a structure in the city, and its application list includes a site plan, a drainage plan and zoning verification. If clearing is the first step toward a house or shop, talk to that office early. We did not find a stand alone clearing or grading permit on the city’s site, so ask them instead of assuming there is none.
The Arab Planning Commission’s subdivision rules run out to land within three miles of town. Splitting acreage near town can land on its desk even when the address feels rural, and those rules ask for an erosion control plan with the construction plans. Part of Arab is also in Cullman County, so find out which county your tract is in before anybody calls about a road ditch.
A new entrance on US 231 or AL 69 goes through ALDOT, and its access manual allows at most one connection per existing parcel for a single family home. ADEM’s construction stormwater permit comes in at one acre or more of disturbance, or a common plan adding up to that. When we quote, we will tell you which of these we know touch your place. Getting the permit in your name stays with you unless we work it out differently.
Where the money goes on Arab ground
No two tracts on the mountain price the same. These four usually decide it.
Length of the way in
A drive that leaves the pavement and runs deep into a tract takes more chert, more loads and more shaping than a short one by the road.
Where water crosses
One pipe at the ditch is one thing. Extra crossings and a big drainage above them are another.
Soft low ground
Low corners can need a dry spell or extra stone before they will hold a loaded truck.
Ground over about 10 percent
Steeper ground takes more cutting, more care and more work to keep water off what you just built.
Around Arab on Brindlee Mountain
Beyond the city limits we also take work in Union Grove, Union Hill, Morgan City, Scant City, Joppa and Baileyton, plus county road tracts along AL 69 and US 231.
What people ask about land work in Arab
What will it run me to clear land in Arab?
Nobody can honestly say until they see it. How grown up it is, how long the driveway runs, how many pipes it takes and how soft the low spots are all change the number. Send pictures and a map pin to (256) 735-3214 and you will get a real quote, not a price list.
Where does all the cut brush end up?
Ground up and left on the dirt as mulch. No burning and no piles sitting around. If something truly has to go, like spoil from a cut, our dump trucks can haul it off.
Will you leave the hardwoods I care about?
Tie ribbon on the ones that matter and the work goes around them. Old pasture up here often has young pine crowding an oak or two worth keeping, and that is easy to talk through on the front end.
Who do I call about permits in Arab?
Inside the city or anywhere you plan to build, start with the Arab Building Department at City Hall. Subdividing within three miles of town goes to the Planning Commission. State road entrances go through ALDOT, and an acre or more of disturbance can bring in ADEM. Part of what we do at quote time is point out what we know applies.
What keeps a chert driveway from washing out on Brindlee Mountain?
Getting the water off it. That means a crown on the road, ditches that carry runoff away and a culvert sized for what comes down. Hard rock on this mountain sends a lot of rain across the top instead of soaking it up, so we study where it runs before stone goes down.
My land is on the Cullman County side of Arab. Does that change anything?
The clearing is the same, but the office you call may not be. Most of Arab is in Marshall County and part is in Cullman County. City rules apply inside the limits, and a road ditch answers to whoever maintains that road, so we sort that out before setting a pipe.
Can I get a new driveway off US 231?
We can build the driveway, but the entrance needs an ALDOT permit first. Its manual allows at most one connection per existing parcel for a single family home, so if a drive already serves your parcel, ask them before planning a second one.
Is a text with photos enough for a quote?
Most of the time, yes. Send the road frontage, the thickest spots, any wet places and a map pin. If it has to be walked to price it right, we will tell you.
Arab, Alabama land clearing from the road on back
Land clearing in Arab, Alabama from Suttles & Sons covers the whole way in: forestry mulching, clearing, driveways, culverts, pads and the dump trucks to haul chert, gravel and fill.
We work on both the Marshall County and Cullman County sides, out toward Union Grove, Scant City, Joppa and Baileyton. Read how chert driveways, culverts and land clearing get planned, or see the other towns we serve.
Every quote is built on your land, from photos or a walk through. Call or text (256) 735-3214 for a free estimate.
Show Kalob your Arab tract
Text some photos, a map pin and what you hope to do with the place. Kalob will tell you where the water wants to go and what it takes to get a truck in, before any machine shows up.
Request an estimate
Photos help most. Text them to (256) 735-3214 after you send this.