Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1896-08-19
HIGHWAY LOCATION.
An Important Subject Instructivcl. Treated by
an Oregon Man.

oSieh"hoaiiy consiuereu Oy the oregon
Road Club. of Portland, Ore. II re-
Gently issued bulletin in which w.
d. Chase, member of the club, gives
some interesting points ou Highway
Locations" The following lines are
taken from his paper:
To locate wagon road properly is a
work requiring no little thought and
careful consideration. To weigh all the
conditions, giving to each its proper
Importance, and finally to make 10
cation in which conditions are bal
ahced, requires much time aud thought
and can not be done in day. To be
cure, u Is easy enough 10 say that a
road over which team can haul a ton
is better than road on which half
ton is limit. But, maybe the people
who are to use the road have more
horsepower and time to spare than
money Again, the traffic of district
may be light, so that it is cheaper, both
ut present aud in the lorg run, to en-
dure the Inconvenience of steep grades
than to reduce them.
Again. the future development of
district must be considered. A traffic
of 20 tons day now may grow to 100
tons The loss caused by steep grades
might be unimportant to the losers in
the first case, but serious in the latter.
To express it differently, what does
grade cost the users? Or what effect
has grade on the trafficY What would
it be worth to the users of road to
have a lighter grade? How far would
you be justified in spending money to
go around hill TO avoid going over
it?
All other things being equal, the
farm liue is the place for the road. In
the Middle West, especially in the
prairie States, the section line was gen.
orally as good as any other, but in the
hill countries the locator ought not to
be required to locate on division line,
simply because it is some ones farm
line.
In the study of grades, the direction
Of the heaviest traffic should be con-
siiered. Most of our market towns are
in the lowlands. while producing dis
tricts are higher up. Obvious. a hill
down which load must pass is not so
Objectionable as one which load must
ascend. You would not spend so much
money nor use so much distance to re.
duce grade which is down for the
most Of the traffic, as you would for
one which must be assembled by the
loaded teams. OF course the subject
of direction of traffic can not be con.
sidered as closely as in railroad work,
but it ought not to be lost sight of
Enough undulation in a road for
good drainage is desirable, but heavy
undulation causes more loss of horse
power and waste of time than any
other one mistake of the road locator.
To go up hill just to go down again
ought to be avoided, yet that is what
we are doing on most of our hill roads.
The locator, when laying out roads
connecting places of different attitudes,
should endeavor not to lose grade, that
is, when the grade has been brought
down to the desired level, keep it there 4;
or, it 1t has reached the desired alti.
tude, do not 20 down again.
We ought to be willing to make con-
siderable distance to avoid making all
up grade in the direction of heaviest
traffic sleeper than five per cent. Grades
up to ten and twelve feet in one hun
dred are not uncommon in mountain
districts, but they are had for any light
traffic. Keep your long grade lines be.
low five per cent. if possible, or, if they
must be sleeper, break the line occa-
sionally with short distance of easier
giade.
| 1t sometimes occurs that valley
road miles long, has one or two bad hills
In its way. This is the place to spend
your money to reduce grade, either by
digging down or going around for this
one hill determines the hauling ca.
pacity Of your teams, which might
haul two tons over the miles of nearly
level valley road, and but half ton
over the hill. A road leading from
one town to another, or from densely
populated district to market or through
manufacturing districts, ought to have
lower grades than simple neighborhood
roads.
Tho traffic determines whether it will
pay to 70 around hill or over it. If
1t is a poor road, those who use it must
suffer for it, either by hauling more
loaus or increasing horsepower. Avoid
dead level roads unless they can be
we'll drained. Avoid swamps, if posi-
BILE. 1t is very expensive to build a
good road through marsh, and ex-
pensive to maintain.
Do not lose sight of the drainage
question. 1t is easy enough to drain
where grades are, but dead level val.
ley roads are too often u little earth up
between two long frog ponds. Drain
these off, if possible, for, depend upon
it, drainage is the soul of good road.
Avoid crossing streams, whenever
possible Bridges add much to the
cost of road.
In general, keep your grades as low
-. Al ~ a