Once truck traffic exceeds a certain daily level annual maintenance costs for a gravel road exceed the long term costs for a paved one. My local council was quite eager to pave the road past my gravel pit when the maintenance supervisor pointed out the costs incurred with 100 loads per day of traffic.

Put down gravel, use it for a year or two till the base stabilizes then pave it properly, NO scrimping on design or materials. Road needs to be built with finished pavement incorporated in the final design. Nothing fancy but relatively cheap and functional.

Peter