Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-02-22
pector to see his instructions carried

sPeStol w SIC MS INSTRUCTIONS carried
out.
As the engineer is held responsible
for all work he should have the sole
appointment of his assistants. He then
has those upon whom he can conf
IDENTIFY rely. Until the roads are fully
under way but few assistants would be
required. One would be able to attend
TO several adjacent counties, or the
county surveyor of each county might
render assistance to the engineer in
many cases.
At the end Of the year detailed
statement should be made of all the
work done of whatever sort during the
year, and its cost, miles of road made,
repairs done, bridges built and repaired,
with their respective costs, and areport
OF the present condition and require
ments OF each county. He should, with
the road boards, invite proposals for
doing all work by contract, according
to the law passed, and the contract
given to the lowest responsible bidder,
provided, in the engineers opinion, it is
not excessive. Width of roads and the
kind to be made should be determined
by the road boards, the engineer giving
his advice and making an estimate of
the cost of the different kinds of roads
to assist the boards IN making choice.
Roads should be as direct in align
ment as possible, all obstacles considered;
they should be of easy grade and always
open for travel. Delays arising from an
up'and-down hill road lengthen the dis.
lance more than the curves of level
valley road. Ridge roads are generally
thinly inhabited. The streams flowing
from the ridges if crossed lower
down entail longer bridges, but there
are fewer of them and less filling grad
ing. The true principle of road con
struction is to make the foundation the
real road and the covering the wearing
surface only. The drainage must be
perfect. The surface being the wearing
part, the material used for it should be
the best available, as it protects the sub
structure from wear and water draining
through. No matter how we'll the super
structure is made, it will soon be de-
stroyed if it does not rest on solid bed.
This is prime principle in roadmaking.
After the road is aligned and accu-
rately graded, the dirt foundation should
be thoroughly we'll rolled before the
first course of stone is put on, and this
first layer of stone should be rolled and
and settled to an even foundation before
the top surface material is placed The
finished road should be an arc of a
circle, with a rise from the side to the
centre of at least 1870 of the width of
the road.
Drainage is most important. Often
small springs are encountered. Where
they are slight in character, large stones
should be used, set on edge by hand,
and well rammed or rolled until firm
foundation is obtained; upon this course
of broken stone at least one foot deep,
also rolled, finishes it; the travel does
the rest. Where there are several or
many such, or the soil is marshy, an
underground trench running through
the centre of the road-bed answers all
purposes. Transverse trenches will
carry the water out of the road-bed TO
the side bitches.
Some soils are not porous enough for
the above plan, or the side bitches NAV
not be deep enough to let the water flow
into them. 1t is best to join it then with
reinforcement of the superstructure,
or to make new roadbed extra thick of
rock layers. Should the location be at a
place SO level that drainage cannot be
done, the only plan is to change the
level. The main destroyer OF roads are
snow, ice, frost, and the wash by heavy
rains. New material should always be
kept distributed at intervals along the
roadside to facilitate repairs. Depres.
sions in the road-bed and ruts should be
| filled at once, as vehicles avoid such,
and the other parts of the road are worn
out the sooner. The old bed should be
loosened with pick or road machine
and dampened before putting on the
new material, in order to get a good
bond between the old and new. ...
No one should be allowed to interfere
with a road, to make any bitches, change
the water channels that may cause a
wash on the road, deposit stone, earth
or timber, or take any material what.
soeyer from it, or dig wells nearer the
road than allowed by law. To do any
OF the above acts authority should be
required in writing from the road board
In Georgia good roads are made, and
which answer well in that climate, at q
small cost. They put eight inches or
one foot of clay on the sand roads, and
a little sand on the clay roads to harden
them. 1t forms quite hard surface.
The roads of other States constructed
of late years have proved that by EN-
ploying expert engineers and improved
methods of building them, the cost il
very much less than formerly. The ex
penditure will be variable, depending
on the nature of the soil, the availability
OF the materials to be used in its con
struction, expenses of grading, character
of road to be made, &c.