My concrete driveway is at the base of a small but steep scarp, and collects a fair bit of water with any amount of rain. The driveway is also irregularly shaped (one car width at street, two car widths at house) and narrow to boot, so I usually have at least one inside wheel hit the mud while pulling in or out. Over the soggy winter we have developed quite a rut which collects a very large puddle when it rains.

I'd like to solve two birds with one stone by laying a french drain from the house end of the driveway to a dry well or rain garden at the street end, lay down gravel appropriately and then possibly some permeable concrete pavers. Will the standard 4" PVC pipe be able to support the load of a vehicle?

There is not enough room between the driveway and the base of the slope to widen the driveway and place a french drain outside of the new driveway boundary. Option two is to cut into the slope and put in a small retaining wall (something I might want to do anyway for aesthetics but would like to put off for a while for budget reasons).

Thanks for reading.