Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-07-01

all. Of late number Of articles have
appeared on the subject, illustrating the
beauties of drive around Lake Mendoza.
This will be great addition to the many
advantages Of our city, and will be SO
much doae towards making our city, what
IL will certainly be, a noted summer resort.
The advantages Of this move are so well
described In q numler of newspaper arti-
cies, with which nearly every one is fa-
mllla7 and leave but little to be said in
that direction. The promoters of this
work have been very liberal by donating
the necessary land and will do the work
through their own property, the public is
asked to do but small portion Of the
whole and it is hoped that every one will
contribute to the effort. The final ques-
ton is: what is the best plan and the best
material to build good road?
From some remarks on road building 1t
would almost appear as though road
making was among the lost arts or that it
was great secret known to but few. and
yet, when the subject is spoken of, every
one will suggest plan which is the best
Of all. Now | intend to give away the
whole secret. Whatever you build your
roads Of, make your roadbed impervious
to water and you will have road as per
manent as the material of which it is
constructed. will speak only of macadam
roads, as these are the kind we will be
obliged to use Oh account of circumstances.
There are various ways in which these
can be construct ed but on the whole it
amounts to covering the roadbed or a por-
ton of the same with broken stone and
compacflng the same with severe rolling
with heavy rollers.
Nearly all the specifications which I
have seen are faulty in one important
respect. They advise that, after the stone
has been spread to the required depth, the
stone should be thoroughly wetted by
sprinkler or hose and then rolled down,
after which fine screenings are to be scat
tered over the surface, wetted and again
rolled. From my observation | know that
1t is right here that the destruction of the
road begins. The water passes through
the stone and vets and softens the clay
below, and the resulting mud is forced up
through the stone when the roller is ap-
piled, and instead Of stone road there is
mixture of stone and mud, which will
soften and break up at every subsequent
wetting. My experience, with satisfac
ton in every case, has been to first grade
the road bed in the middle. This should
be rolled hard, but not wetted unless COW
cred with dry dust and only sufficient to
lay the dust; then put on the broken stone
and shape tie surface with a good crown
in the center, after which put on screen
ings until the same no longer sift down,
which indicates that all the interstices are
filled. Now spread a coatina of screen
ings over the surface and use plenty of
water while rolling and continue the roll
ing until the surface is sound and solid.
The rolling is completed only when the
roller will crush fragment of stone laid
on the surface without making an i'm
preston.
AS to material, if the covering is put on
IN two courses or layers, as it may be done
with economy, the first or lower layer may
be an inferior quality of stone of irregular
sizes and bonded and rolled as before men
toned; the top layer should be of hard
stone nearly uniform in size All stone
except hard fricable lime stone should be
seasoned before being crushed; otherwise,
while being crushed into fragments, every
part of the stone is injured to some extent
and will disintegrate under the roller and
wear out rapidly under future traffice. II
is in this respect that stone broken with a
hammer is superior to crushed lock; here
each piece is sound as far as the nature ct
the material is concerned.
With regards 10 the amount of screen
ings required, found that measure Of
broken stone shaken closely together
would hold about forty per cent. of water
in the interstices, so that this amount
less the amount crushed by the roller
would be required to mako solid road
impervious to water and as durable as the
material used in construction. The shape
Of the cross section is m alter of great
Importance, too often the surface section
Is made segment of circle
here we will find the surface too steer
near the sides and consequently
increased wear, and too fat in the middle
so as to hold water, and unless the stone
is very hard, it becomes saturated anl
! softens and wears out much sooner than i
| should; the rosssection should be TIVE
straight lines from the cutters to tn,
| center with raise of one in sixteen Il
one in eighteen, such a surface will drai,
itself at all times and the road will b.
more durable. For country roads widtl
Of fourteen to sixteen feet is sufficient t,
make a good driveway; the side
of the road should be graded so as to carr,
away the rain and snow water to proven
its getting under the stone, in which cas-
it is sure to break up, beginning at tn
ides and working towards the center
Where the material obtainabIe is uniform
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