The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1903-04-30
|GOOD ROADS QUESTION
What Material is the Best for Max
Ing Permanent Roads in Iowa.


What are called permanent roads,
rock, macadamlzed, steel or any of the
other expensive roads built in the east,
are out of the question In Iowa. Aside
from gravel there is no material avail
able for permanent roads in the state,
and in many parts of the state even
gravel cannot be used, excepting at con.
siderable expense. Ultimately, Iowa
may come to permanent costly road
beds. But the problem of good roads
at present is the problem of using Iowa
dirt to the best advantage.
During nine or ten months of the year
Iowa has the best roads there are. The
best asphalt pavement is not better
than an Iowa country road. Nothing
makes more desirable road, way than
Iowa dirt, when 1t is dry. 1t is only
when wet that it offers any problem to
the road boss, or warrants calls for good
roads conventions. The problem of
Iowa roads, therefore, is how to keep
them dry
Drainage is undoubtedly the first pre-.
requisite of good road in Iowa. In
large part of the state this means ordi-
nary surface drainage, to take standing
water away from the road side. 1t
would be surprising to know how manv
years in succession road taxes have
been worked out on roads that still run
through ponds of water that have no
outlet. After thorough surface drain
age is secured, probably the drainage
in the road bed itself is desirable. But
even this is not so important as keeping
the surface of the road we'll rounded, so
that ruts and pot holes do not fill with
standing water at every rain storm.
Good surface drainage and well graded
and we'll kept road beds will solve nine
tenths of the problem.
Even in the spring of the year, when
the going out of the frost seems to be
responsible for impossible roads, half of
the trouble results from the condition
in which the road beds are allowed to
go into winter. In nine cases out of
ten bad places in the spring are found
where the road bed vas rutted, hatten-
ed and followed out, ,and smashed down
in the fall. A we'll graded and we'll
smoothed road bed in the fall is rarely
| if ever impossible in the spring.
If every township in Iowa would have
competent road tender, whose sole
business it should be to keep the roads
'scraped and smoothed after every rain,
thereby preventing ruts and hollows
that hold water, the road problem
would disappear in those parts of the
state that have good drainage and we'll
graded roads. The difficulty with Iowa
roads, is the care, or rather lack of
care, they receive after they are made.
We shall never have good roads until
they are constantly cared for, aud we
shall have bad roads only few days in
tile spring Of each year, after they are
cared for, even with nothing but our
ordinary dirt for road bed The cost
of road tender would be small item
to any Iowa township.
When gravel is accessible or where for
any reason permanent road bed is de.
sired, gravel will make as good road
bed as there is, and requires only ordi.
nary care. An eight inch coating of
gravel will last for years. even on a
heavy road, and little mending each
year will keep it from being cut through
and ground into the dirt. But even
with gravel, which is our only perma-
nent road material, the problem is still
one of care.-Register and Leader.