The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1905-09-28

ADVANTAGES O. A DIRT AND STONE
HIGH WAY.

w. t..-,, 3,:IIi Entirely OF Either
..-....7-.g ,- est azd Most Con-
,-..r.Faf.. H.. Eany sections.
"'Tbnye sr,. i Sc wv people who de-
CRY the dirt road as being utterly
wor ras under any and all circum-
stal.r, g5 william L. Voorhees, in
tie G3al .;al-5 Magazine Accord
ING a. isle-,. numerous critics no road
wgetl.5 ii The name can be male of
dirt il is w&&teful ana cxtravagant
creasiaa; q thing that swallows taxes. /
hires A3gsz and wagons. fills the trav-
cler with ,tos;, and, in short, is an evil
from ally Stanipoint that it may be
viewed. 4.e opponents Of the dirt
road naturally look upon the stone
highway as an ideal thoroughfare.
They point 70 its excellent tractive
qualities they call attention to the
fact t.gat il Is dry in winter as we'll as
in summer. and they argue that it is
the corslDMation to be desired by
every progressive community.
Now, de fact of the matter is-as
any uupGgiulice,i student Of tie road
question will admit-neither Of these
views is wholly correct. The dirt road
as ordinarily built and maintained Is
very poor affair, especially in the
winter auu early spring months, but
there are seasons VIXEN Il dirt road Is
preferable 10 q stone highway for light
driving. The stone road, if we'll built,
is so far in advance Of the dirt high
way that many people have reached
the conclusion that as matter Of con-
yeuience and economy The former
should suppIant the latter In every
case. But the stone road has its linn
itations In dry weather it IS not
pleasant to travel over on account OF
the noise that is caused by the horses
boofs and the wagon tires coming in
contact with the hard material The
ideal highway would therefore appear
to be one which combines the best.
features Of the two most pronounced
types Of roadway-namely, the dirt
and the stone. The best method to
economic in stone road construction
is to decrease the width Of the track.
A stone road eight feet in width neces-
sarily costs but one-half as much as
highway sixteen feet wide, and i'll the
large ma jority of cases it will answer
he i,,cf az yynl1 tho wi1nF
thoroughfar 1t viii therefore be seen
that the first advantage in favor OF the
combination road is that of chcapness
on account of the narrow stone track
which Is possible with this type Of
highway
"Thc great disadvantage OF dirt
road is that it will hold water and Is
easily cut into ruts and holes. During
.he winter months of alternate freez-
ing and thawing it is practically i'm
possible TO keep waterlogged dirt
road IN passable condition for travel.
On the other hand, the stone road, hav-
ing surface that is practically Inn
neryiops to water, will remain hard
and firm even in bad weather. The
stone road is therefore strong ut the
point where the dirt road is weak, but
in like manner the latter Is strong
where the orlner is weak. In good
weather no one cares to use stone
road for pleasure driving. The dirt
road is noiseless and the dust that
arises from it is not usually so un-
yl,,+ al, nj frnv n
maeadam highway.
Zone Of the advantages of such a road
rs is being described that will readily
occur to every practical roadmakcr is
that 1t is less expensive to keep in re-
pair than the road which is construct
ed entirely of stone or entirely Of dirt.
1t Is well understood that n dirt road
wears fastest in winter, while under
the usual conditions the largest wear
On a stouP road occurs during the sum-
ner months. In the combination road
he stone track is principally used In
he winter, when it is in the best con-
ition 10 withstand the action Of traf.
&. while the dirt road is most largely
1sed during the summer months, when
travel has the least effect upon 1t. The
wear on each kind of material is thus
'eGuced 10 Il minimum
ut will therefore be seen that fol
many sections the cheapest and most
convenient highway is that which has
both 4 stone and an earth track. The
width OF the stone portion will depend
N width Of tho o1,tipo
i need not in any case be over twelve
feet wide and ordinarily 1t need no
be over eight feet in width. 1t is wei
to bear in mind, however. that thu
combination dirt and stone road |.
only practical on a reasonably wide
thorOughfare. Narrow country road!
must, necessarily. be either all dirt o.
all stone. On road of from twenty Il
tweniy-four feet in width the ston,
track can he constructed on one side
On road over twenty-four feet II
width tie stone track can be placed
in The middle, with dirt drive
on either side. The stone porto,
should be constructed exactly II
the manner that Il macadam or tel
ford highway is usually built. TIL,
trench should first be eNcavated to tn
required ''epth and proper width. TIL
stone is then placed in this trench |,
courses anu thoroughly rolled. Car
should be exercised IN the matter O
the drainage OF the entire roalbed. I
may be argued that as the stone viii
not wear as fast as the dirt some diff
Guilty will be experienced in keeping
the dirt portion of the roadway on
Level with the stone track. This OF
lection, however, is more fanciful thai
real SIS experience has demonstrate,
that the teams using the highways ar
constantly pulling from one side I
the ether. and this serves the doubl
purpo'ln Of keeping the dirt well .ioine
70 n" stone track and of maintainin