OCR Text |
Show er of oil and sand, and perhaps a top dressing of the same. As long as the structure is complete, the road will wear. But let time or a too heavv load, or frost, or some other cause into the foundation, and the "bad spot" will begin to ravel. Stones will break away and roll down in the ditch, the surface will disinti-grate disinti-grate and in a comparatively short time a large and rough hole appears. A good road is no better than its worst mile. A mile of holes and ruts cuts down the usefulness of ten miles MEND THE ROAD BEFORE IT NEEDS MENDING A man who spent twenty-five thousand dollars for a house and contents and refused to spend a hundred hun-dred dollars to stop the leak in the roof, which spoiled both, would be considered a fool. But there are many counties and many states that j of good road. To repair a large hole costs much money. To inspect the road often and stop up the little hole when it starts is very inexpensive. The greatest city fire in history could have been put out by a child with a cup of water if'found in time. So can the worst possible damage to road be inexpensively prevented, if the maintenance is begun in time. spend from ten to twenty-five thousand thous-and dollars a mile for a good road, and refuse the hundred dollars a year need to keep it in perfect order. or-der. The time to begin to repair a good road is the day it is opened for traf- fic. Homely philosophy says that a ; I st;tch in time saves nine, and road experience proves that a bucket of oil, a little sand, a few rocks, and a man with a shovel now can save the expense of a whole road gang and expensive machinery later. ' The" modern road consist of a foundation course of stone, a smaller, lighter course on top, a wearing course of still smaller stones, a bind- |