The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1878-03-09
OUR COUNTY ROADS.
'tS Engineer johnson. Who was Ap-
p"tntes, superintendent of tse Re
pairs On sne te".sy Roads, etye-
some N.ry Valuable Suggestions 60
the eyer-~~rr
DALLAS. TENAs, March 4. Is7s

iuH and repairing Ot several OF the Dali
LAS county roads aud this with the con.
curreucs Of the county commissioners
have taken the liberty of printing
some remarks upon the subject OF dirt
roads. compiled from an article by
Professor Il G. Carpenter OF the Michi-
gan state Agricultural college IN the
engineering News, OF October p, 1877,
and t. iew sentences from General q A
'lmores book on roajz, streets and
psvemeuts
This Is done with hope Of creating
AN interest ina this branch of our mutual
duty, aud with the expectation Of Lead
INK 70 % better acquaintance with each
OF you, ~ which We may all contribute
-omethlug for the Improvement and
maintenance Of our county roads
The principal cause Of POOR road. on
All heavy soils is an over,abundance Of
water which render. the road wet.
-oit and. 1T times, unfit for travel
consequently We find that the road
makers IN all ages have strongly urged
the adoption OF some Efficient method
Of removing the surplus water.
10 IS NOT claimed that the removal of
the water will. ia all circumstances.
and under all conditions render a road
good but 70 Is claimed that this is an
essential condition TO the making Of a
good road. and one which. If not pro-
y,ied by nature, must be prov ided ar
uuciailN
hut"yer system OF road making is
adopted 10 should be one that will
Keep oar roads constantly improving.
and one that does not demand very
costly annual impToy ements 10 keep
them steadily growing better. IL il a
well known fact that IL means are pro-
yiaet Tor tie escape of water. even
though no broken stone. gravel. or
other road covering he applied the
road will he greatly improved A dry.
smooth road. on clay or loan (roads on
dry sand not referred to in this articlel.
BE- always IN good condition, aud the
nearer dry a road on heavy soil can be
Kept, the better Il will he The COM
mon means rcsorted 20 for removing
Do, water is 10y turnpiking. ditching
and Nv under draining
IuruplkIug l. performed by excavat.
ing bitches 40 the sides 81 th. road and
throwing the earth obtained from these
INTO the center forming an eleva~
tel udge on which the road.
wa, is formed The roadway being
elevated above the side channels the
water ptsses from it partly by passing
through the surface ct the road and
working It, WAY through the ground.
until 70 reaches the side channels aud
partly tY running directly down the
SLOPES OF the roadway into the side
channels be efficiently Of the turn
p.," depends upon its dr,nrss for
when heavy soils are saturated with
water they become soft and incapable
90 supporting a heavy load, cousegueut>
u 30 becomes eyideut that the surface
oi the turnpike should ha made of such
shape as TO allow ~ l.ttis water as nos.
sItle Gu Permeate the surface and il
4pusii convey as large per cent as
the conditions will allow directly to the
side channels, which should be made so
as tn convey the water that passes into
them completely aud rapidly away.
We" longitudinal slope or grade that
may n- gwen the surface depends sonle>
what on the nature Of the soil. and the
character ct the travel thai passes over
the road
The sleeper the surface. the less
water viii II absorb. but IL II be made
t." steep ID" water passing over it will
wash much earth into the side chan.
ueis. rendering them ccmuaratively
useless as vel. as endangering the
safety OF the travellers who drive near
the s,de Of the road The exact slope
chat will best suit all cases cannot he
definitely stated hut experience has
shown That a rise Of one inch Tor every
three feet measured horizontally an.
'vrr7 the required conditions very well
for the road bed The siope OF the side
of the road to the bitches should be
ltti" more than one inch TO the foot.
vale 5terper siope--ior instance, one
til,i rDes tour inches per foot horizon.
tally will do tor the side of the bitches
next TO the road fences. as they are less
likely to be cut or trampled uut Of shape
ly passing vehicles.
The side Of the roadway should be
sloped from the center. gradually in.
crca-ing ia steepness 20 the bottom OF
the bitches. 80 as to give the water the
greatest rapidity. where its washing
viii 10 the least hurt Practically il
viii answer every purpose TO make the
sides Of the bitches uniformly ascend.
ing planes, which are curved to meet
each other alter reaching the road bed.
The width Of the roadway should be
made tn depend upon the amount and
character of the travel that passes
over the road roadway OF
twenty-five feet in width will
probably Accommodate any traffic
that passes over, or may lie expected 10
pass over, any country road in this
state. 1t is doubtful economy to con-
struCt road less than sixteen feet
under any circumstances, while road
way 81 twenty feet viii probably answ Ell
well for all roads, except such as have
exceptionally large traffic over them.
The bitches, or side channels, should
have "A continuous ascent from the outs
let TO the highest portion of the road
and the outlets provided, should be OF
sufficient size 10 allow all water that
passes down the side channels TO BASS
through &c once into water courses or
suitable reservoirs, where its presence
vii not affect the r1ad The depres-
sions that occur on the line of almost
every road, mark the position OF rains
nr water courses that make an aurIe
with the axis of the road. aud which
afford excellent means Of emptying the
side channels Ga roads over Hat low
or Inar8hy grounds. IL is of vital impor>
lance 20 the condition Of the road that
the side channels be provided with ans
pie means Of allowing the water to ess
cspe.
The Implements which above all 9th
~rs are hest adapted for tins work, are
the road scraper and the pillow. The
plow requires no special mention
here The road scraper should
have more width in proportion to its
depth than IN the ordinary land scraper
Instead OF having the bottom rounded
IN the usual manner it should be- made
perfectly Hat
The way OF constructing a turnpike
road Is ~ hrst plow the sod on the side
Of the road the width of the bitches.
which should not be less than ten and
half feet for a roadbed tw four feet
WIDE second, scrspe the turf OF sod on
the center of the road, striking the fur
rows endwise with the scraper, and hav.
ing the team pass round in a circle
third. when the sod. the whole width of
the bitches, ii removed to the roadbed.
pillow again, making the burrows deeper
10 the center Of the bitches, Serape
this earth apon the roaibed, rounding
up the center aud hlliug all the in
capabilities caused by the sod fourth.