OCR Text |
Show GOOD ROADS FOADS MUST BE MAINTAINED f-0 Phase of Public Thoroughfare Problem of More Importance Keep Surface Well Drained. There Is no phase of the road problem prob-lem more important than that of maintenance. main-tenance. The general Impression that there are certain types of roadr, that are permanent Is erroneous. No permanent per-manent road has ever br:en constructed construct-ed or ever will be. The only things about a road that may be considered permanent are the grading, culverts ani bridges. Roads constructed by the moi;t skillful highway engineers will soon bo destroyed by the traffic, frost, rain and wind, unless they are properly proper-ly maintained. But the life of these roads may be prolonged by systematic maintenance. A poor road will not only be improved by proper maintenance, mainte-nance, but may become better in time than a good road without ft. Tha first and last commandment in earth road maintenance is to keep the surface well drained. To insure good drainage the ditches should be kept opan, all obstructions removed and a amooiti crown maintained. Except for very stony soil, the road machine ot scraper may be used very effectively for this work. The machine should be used once or twice a year, and the work should be done when the soil is damp, so that It will pack and bakt Into a hard crust. Wide and shallovi side ditches should be maintained, with sufficient fall and capacity to dispose ot surface water. These ditches can in most cases be constructed con-structed and repaired with a road ma chine. All vegetable matter such as sods and weeds should be kept out of the road, ,as they make a spongy surface which retains moisture. Clods are also objectionable, for they soon turn t dust or mud, and for that reasot roads should never be worked whet dry or hard. Bowlders or loose stone are equally objectionable if a smooth surface is to be secured. A split-log drag or some similar device de-vice is very useful in maintaining the surface after suitable ditches and cross sections have once been secured. This drag can also be useid to advantage o a gravel road as well as on an earth road. The principle involved in drag ging is that clays and most heavy soils will puddle when wet and set very hard when dry. The little attention that the earth road needs must be given promptly and at the proper time if the best results are to be obtained. In dragging roads only a small amount of earth is moved, Just enoujb to fill the ruts and depressions with a thin layer of plastic clay or earth which packs very hard, so that ll next rain. Instead of finding ruts, de pressions and clods in which to collect, col-lect, runs off, leaving the surface but little affected. The drag should be light and should tie drawn over the road at an angle of about 45 degrees. The driver should ride on the drag and should not drlv! King Road Drag. faster than u walk. One round trip, each trip staddling a wheel track, is usually sufficient to n,I the ruts and smooth the surface. If necessary the road should be dragged after every bad spell of weather, when the soil is in proper condition to puddle well and still not adhere to the drag. If the road Is very bad it may be dragged when very wet and again when it begins be-gins to dry out. |