Mower County transcript., 1890-11-26
ROAD CONSTRUCTING.
thorough Drainage Essential Whore
Good Roads Arc Dosirer. ~

! II
Good Roads Arc Desired.
George w. Hinkle writes to the Or.
ange Judd Farmer: In cons structinq anv
system OF roads the most important part
ts thorough drainage, both under and
surface. An earth road should be st
least fifty feet wide, with surface
dttohes cut as far out on tho sides as
they can bc made. Carry the earth to
the center, forming an oval grade, about
twenty.four feet wide. Make side ditches
six feet wide, eighteen inches deep on
outer and sloping on inner edge. Con-
tinue side ditches entire length.
Then underdrain all low land, springy
and seepy hills on both sides of the
roadway, conveying tho water to q good
outlet. Where surface water stands on
tho sido of tho road, flll in q small
space over under-drain with broken
tile. II not able to tile both sides of
the road. then put tilo in the center Of
the roadway, before grading; practical OK.
perience proves this to be successful. Do
away with all small culverts, replacing
them with double-strength sewer tile.
A road so constructed is AZ near perfect
as one can be OF earth. II constructed
according to the above directions, an
excellent foundation is now provided
for a gravel road.
In many parts of this State (1llinois)
gravel exists in quantities seem
ingly sufficient to ''spiderize" the
State in every direction with first.
class highways. We have about
forty miles of gravel road in this
(Paris) township; eight miles built this
summer, with four miles more under
contract. To construct these roads q
tax is levied to full limit Of law Zone
dollar to each one hundred dollars) and
when collected such roads are built as
the people vote to be constructed out ol
this special fund. The road to be made
is divided into sections Of one-half mile
in length. We purchase our gravel,
strip the earth from the surface, and
then advertise for bids by the section,
per cubic yard measurement
In putting on the gravel we use stock
boards twelve inches wide, fourteen
feet long, set up on each side of center
of roadway, held in place by iron pins;
boards ten or twelve feet apart with
iron pins in center every seven feet
twelve or fifteen inches above ground.
Whenever two pair of boards are filled
one pair of boards and one pair of cen.
ter pins are taken up and moved for
ward and set again, and so on until the
line of road is finished. Now, il taken
care of for twelve months, by keeping
the gravel worked to the center with q
wooden drag, you will have road az
fording pleasure TO ride over at any tim.
OF the year. 1t costs from two hundred
to four hundred dollars per mile to
grade, underdrain and sewer such road,
but all of this is done with the road and
bridge tax. The special tax above noted
is used for the gravel. The cost ol
gravelling depends on many circum.
stances-how much dirt is on the
gravel, how close the bank is to the
road to he constructed, how strong the
competition in bidding, ETC., etc. We
get the earth removed from our gravel
for six and seven-ninths to eight cents
per cubic yard. We get the gravel pu,
on the road according to last contract
for an average OF twenty-eight cents
per cubic yard, on road four and one
quarter miles long. Gravel bank with
in one-quarter mile of road and within
one.half mile Of end of road.