Montgomery County sentinel., 1890-07-04

over Robb's branch the single wagon tract
was washed into gully by the flood.
filled it with gravel and sand, grubbed VI
the bushes ON the Sides blew up and price
out the rocks, scraped the sides and mad
the road good and of the proper width.
The ford was badly injured by the flood
| repaired the lower abutment by the add
ton of an imm ense quantity OF large rocl
| blasted and priced out OF the bed of the roaC
and of the side drains. do not think any
future flood can move it. | filled up tht
ford with small stones and gravel. 1t is now
solid, smooth and easy TO cross
On the fiat between the branch and the
foot of the hill there was a bad mire. There
was but single wagon track between two
steep banks with no drain to carry on the
water. | dug into the banks and got dirt to
fill up the road and to widen it to its proper
width with good side drains sufficient to
catch the water from the adjoining hills and
keep out OF the road. | put in curved
piked water break to near the top of the
hill to keep the water from running down
the bed of the road into the fiat bottom.
The place is now dry and solid.
There was a bad gully washed around the
abutment of the bridge over Rock Creek
which made the road impossible. AS soon
as the rain ceased | put hands to work,
filled the gully with stones and covered
them heavily to the floor of the bridge with
gravel. The hand rails of the bridge and
posts supporting them were washed away
by the flood. | had new posts planted and
put ON new hand rails made of good cedar
poles dressed.
The legal width OF the roadway is sixty
feet. opened roadway its entire length
of uniform width OF forty feet, including
the side drains, The side drains are each
five feet wide and two or three feet deep,
graded so as to curve from their bottom to
the centre of the road, facilitating the flow
OF the water into them from the bed OF the
roadway, SO that the roadway, exclusive of
the side drains, is thirty feet wide. The
great advantage of the great width is fully
shown by the fact that so soon as one track
gets muddy another is taken so that there is
no deep ruts or mud in the road. The
road is rounded up from the side to the CEN
tire, and the side drains run over hills and
valleys alike from one end of the road to
the other, emptying themselves into the
viaducts and bitches prepared for that pur-
pose at the lowest points between the many
hills. they have thoroughly protected the
road from water from the bed OF the road
and from the adjacent hills, which at times
is immense in volume, not single wash
has been made in the bed of the road. To
construct the side drains had in places to
blast out rocks, and ledges OF rock which
heretofore served TO throw the water into the
road AM wash il into gullies.
Instead of the usual convex water breaks,
or ridges across the road, constructed only
concave, or inverted curved valley water
breaks, which collect and carry off the
water from the eoad without at all imped-
ing the passage of vehicles | made over
sixty of them, of which twenty-five are
piked. They cross the road at right angles
and are about ten feet wide and eighteen
inches deep, draining from center To the
sides Of the road, and piked with flint stone
broken small and eight or ten inches thick.
In piking those gullies and the wet flats at
the foot of the hills, amounting in all to
about 1000 square yards of solid, permanent
piking, | used over hundred perches OF
flint stone, Of which about seventy perches
were gathered from the road bed and side
drains, and the residue, over thirty perches,
was hauled from my land.
The uther water breaks were made of
fence rails, which | furnished, and earth.
The rails were buried at right angles across
the road about hall their thickness A trench
was cut about n foot above them three feet
wide, graded to meet the grade Jf the hill
about eighteen in ches deep, the dirt from i
thrown on and over the rails and made TO
the hill.
| have removed all stones loose or solid
from the road and used them prohtably in
making the repairs so that the road is now
free from distractions, solid and smooth
from one end To the other. | have had
very hard job, II great deal more than bar
gained for, but | have finished IL and done
it well and permanently.
You will excuse me for here expressing
my thanks 10 Mr.. Philip Connel for. the
dltchng, grading aud pihfng, ana trU| ffrr.4' :
Samuel Robertson for the plowlng, scabing
in and rounding up the road, and for tneir
extraordinary skill and diligence in IKE
cutting my orders for work TO be done on
the road.
| herewith return my bill of items for The
cost Of the work done. 1t is IA very small
one when the large amount of heavy, skill
ful and permanent work done is considered
have charged nothing for services as super
visor, nor lor the stones furnished, nor for
hauling them, although they would have
been useful to me for my own purposes,
nor for the fence rails To make the blind
bitches and water breaks, nor lor the use Of
my tools. Mr. Robertson is my overseer
and costs me over $3.50 day, but | have
charged for his services only Sl.10. or
course | lose the difference. Mr.. Connell
charges me 81 25 per day for work on my
farm, and have charged for him + 10 per
day. have paid all the hands their wages
in cash, and must wait over year for the
re payment, thereby losing the interest on
the money The county receives more than
$125 worth of skllful, diligent, permanent
work for every dollar charged in the ac.
count when estimated by the mode of ascer
tanning the value Of work done on public
roads. 1t is the cheapest and best work |
have ever know done for the county.
The county paid 800 for blowing out the
stumps to open about 300 yards Of the Mad
dox avenue, through the embryo town Of
Janetta, and about $4,000 for opening the
avenue from the city road TO the future
Garrett Park city and constructing the
bridge on il over Rock Creek, distance Of
about one mile. Both Of these avenues com
bined cannot be compared ia importance to
the city road for the benefit Of the public at
large, aud yet the cost is immensely greater
than that on the city road.
| found the road scraper to be SO hard and
injurious To my horses that stopped using
them to it, and finished the work with my
oxen. They did the work better than horses
and without injury 20 them.
Should you desire any further iniorma-
ton about my account or the discharge Of
my duty, il will give me pleasure TO give il.
Respectfully submitted,
w. VEIRs BoUIC,
Supervisor, &c.
Married.-Mr William r. Hammond,
of Savage, and Miss Annie II. Benson, OF