The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-18
STUDYING GRAVEL ROADS.
Chatham County VIII Have Good
Roads In Time.

In view OF the interest that is being
taken in road building. and the effort 10
give Chatham county good roads. the re-
suits Of experimental road work through
out the country are being closely watched.
not only by the authorities. but by land
owners whose property interests are az
fected.
A gentleman who has given considera-
bic study TO road improvement, and who
is interested in having good roads
throughout the county, sends the Morning
News description of a road in WiscOn-
sin, showing how good roads are built
tnere- The particular interest in this road
is due to the fact that gravel was largely
used in building it, and that the super
intendent of roads OF Chatham county is
roads.
The Wisconsin road was over part of
nil. 1t was demonstrated that If
nil has a rise of over six feet in 100,
II pays TO cut il to proper grade, remov-
ing the side dirt TO the lowest point. A
slight ascent may be thus reduced with
twenty feet wide. Outside of this are the
bitches The bitches are five feet hOri-
zontal width by one foot deep.
The bitches were aligned by stakes plac-
ed close together fifteen feet from the
center OF the road. Care was taken TO
strike the first burrows Of the road ma
chine accurately on these lines, as any
deviation by short crooks is sure to be fol-
lowed by corresponding sag or hummOck
IN the grade. The bitches were carried one
foot below the original surface, with an
outward slope of one foot to one of hight,
and an inward slope of five feet to one.
The turf was shaved very thin, and allow
ed TO chop under the back and inner end
Of the grade blade. A firm grade OF four
inches at the center Of the road was raised.
Then the bitches were trimmed and the
dirt deposited as berms or ridges, to keep
the gravel from rolling down the slope.
These side banks were about two feet
wide, four inches high on the inner sides,
and sloped outward TO conform with the
curve of the grade. The space between
the berms, sixteen feet in width, was then
hlled with gravel nine inches in depth at
the crown, and sloped slightly TO meet the
berms on either side. This required six or
seven roads per linear rod.
There was a common belief, says the
American Agriculturist, from which this
description is taken, that good dirt
roads could not be made in sand with
out much clay, and IL is held by many yet
But the notion was dispelled. The gravel
used was mainly finty rock, with appar-
entity some iron and 25 per cent of clay.
In 1884 test piece of road was made
which compacted so quickly and firmly
that the value of this gravel was fully
established. So hard does it become that
a pebble will be crushed under a wheel
without denting the road surface. Rock
crushed and ground by nature, with the
most perishable parts washed out, makes
a surface nearly as durable as macadam
and more agreeable to travel upon In
sandy loan no subdrainage is necessary
Good open bitches, u feet from the center
OF the road for longitudinal drainage
with S-inch vtritied tile culverts wherever
the grade acts as dam, gives satisfac-,
tory results.
The tiles were laid not less than two feet
DeloW the surface, with a fall of several
lnches 10 prevent clOgging and crushing
They cost u cents delivered at railroad
stations. They are cheaper than three
men plank DOX culVertS, and will last an
indefinite period. The cost of making this
three miles OF road was about $2lOO or
SEQ per mile Three dollars per day was
paid for teams and drivers and $3.50 for
shovelers. Gravel cost cents per load
where purchased. Much of 1t was do
mated, but all was accounted at cents
cubic yard at a load. The average dis
tance of haul was ll2 rods. Number of
loads required per mile, 2,157. Average
number of loads per day drawn by a team
a. When IL is remembered that this road
Is virtually street in dimensions, these
tgures are remarkably low. 1t connects
Waupaca with the Wisconsin veterans
home, Grand View, and other summer
resorts, and extends out toward a fertile
farming country, where hundreds of thou
sands of bushels of potatoes are grown
annually, besides other productions
which must be drawn over
this route. But most country
roads need not be graded wider than %
feet, nor graveled more than eight feet in
width. Thus the crawling would be re-
duced one-half and the cost of grading de-
creased somewhat. Further many places
have good dirt along the highway to enter
directly into the grade When the road
machine IS through with shaping a road
IN II, SUCH location, the facing is done also.
The minimum cost under the most favor
able circumstances of this kind is less than
zoe per rod. The towns have expended in
labor on the highways an average of ST.
4l9 year during the last decade. This
would have built 40 miles of the single
track road % feet grade, 8 feet graveled
three main roads each way across a town
snip, with four miles to spare, and graded
several miles besides