Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1900-07-20
COUNTRY DIRT ROADS.
HOW TO BUILD AND KEEP THEM IN
GOOD CONDITION

HOW TO BUILD AND KEEP THEM IN
GOOD CONDITION
Equipment Of Road Machinery Re-
CURED - Horse Rollers Versus
Steam What to Do With the
stones-GradinG and Draining.
The process Of improving dirt road,
says e. G. Harrison in Rural New
Yorker, is this: First, 60 over the road
with the road machine, adjusting it so
as to take off the grass, weeds, leaves,
loose stones, etc. Then cart this to
some dump. Do not leave any on the
road surface. The stones might be
separated to fill up deep holes or wash
es. Then with the machine draw the
earth to center Of road, so as to form
crown. If there are still loose stones
or grass sods, leaves, sticks, etc., found
mixed with the earth, use a common
steel tooth harrow to draw them in
piles, and this narrowing will also mix
the earth, sand and clay. Having got
rid of loose stones and trash, put on
the roller and roll until the surface is
hard and firm, increasing the weight
as the rolling proceeds.
The crown of the road depends upon
the grades and width. On level or
nearly so one-half to three-quarters of
an inch fall to every running foot from
center of road to side bitches; on
grades increase the fall, so as to have
1t greater if possible than the grade Of
| the road longitudinally. This is nec-
essary to cause the storm water to flow
of the roadbed to the side bitches and
does away with crossways or water
breaks, excepting on grades of ten feet
! rise in the 100 feet Of length. AS wa
| ter Is the destroyer Of roadbeds, it is
very important to keep the road at all
times we'll crowned up and hard as
possible. This cannot be done we'll
without road machine and roller.
The side open bitches should be deep
| and wide enough to carry off all storm
water and kept at grade so as to car
~ off all the water. No water should
| be allowed to remain in these bitches,
as 1t will in short time be likely to
seep under the roadbed and soften it.
If the earth is light and sandy, it
may have what is called natural drain
age-that is, an open soil under the
surface consisting of coarse sand or
pebbles or loose stones. If the earth
should be found to be more compact
and solid underneath the surface, then
the storm water falling on the road
bed which does not flow to the side
bitches will soak downward until it
comes to the more compact earth,
where the voids in the earth are fewer
than at the surface, and will remain
there. The teams will work this into
mud.
In this case artificial drainage is nec-
essary. This is done by putting a
drain in the center of the travelled road
way, or, better, two, about eight or ten
feet apart. Land draintile is found to
be the cheapest. The drains should be
from two to three feet deep, with a
grade Of three inches fall to the 100
feet Of length. It is better to discharge
the water into side bitches about every
400 or 500 feet. Three to four inch
common earthen drain tile will answer
If stones are plentiful, use them to fill
up these bitches to near the top. Keep
this fact in mind: Drainage of storm
water from the road differs from storm
water land drainage in this respect-in
land drainage only what is called ST.
perfuous water is carried off by drain
tile, therefore the tile are put in four
feet deep and wide apart, so that storm
water is retained in the earth to nour-
ish plant life, and all that is not neces-
sary for this is carried off by drainage
On roadbeds all water may be called
superfuous and should be removed as
! quickly as possible; hence downward
! or direct drainage is the most effective
Spring or underground water is that
which comes to the roadbed from un-
foreground streams. Sometimes these
| have their rise at a considerable dis.
lance from the road, coming from land
| more elevated than the roadbed. Some
times they are at the sides of the road
and In the roadbed itself. When they
come from the high lands along the
road or on the roadside, a drain should
be placed along the side of the road
from which the water comes, and thus
cut it off from the roadbed. When the
springs start apparently from or in the
roadbed, they can generally be cut off
by a ditch cut nearer the source, as
spring water. flows along through a
stratum the dip Of which is found to
run with the grade of the hill or. land:
we go up the hill or grade from the
spring or wet place in the road, and
cut off that which makes the wet or
soft place in the roadbed, and run the
drain to the side bitches or nearest
natural waterway.
In all cases the draintile should be
laid before the roadbed is improved, as
first mentioned, and it should be done
some time before, so as to allow for
settling of earth which fills the bitches
When there is no good material for
artificial covering for roadbed and the
cost is too great for their construction,
the common earth roads can be greatly
improved as above Indicated The cost
will depend upon the amount of work
to be done and price of teams and