The Havre herald. [volume] (Havre, Mont.) 1904-1908, 1906-10-26

REPAIRING A ROAD.
| tain traffic are good drainage of sur
! face and subsoil. To attain this object
| the material used for the surface should
be hard In order to resist the wear of
the traffic, should not contain too much
small stone to absorb moisture and
should be thoroughly consolidated and
Of sufficient depth to bear the loads to-
which the road Is subjected, so that the
wear may be confined to the surface.
Drainage almost always requires at
tention,, and there is usually a great
deal that can be done to improve 1t, at
slight expense, and nothing pays So
we'll in the end. Proper care of the sur
face is generally all that is needed to-.
prevent water from standing on the.
road or in the cutters, but dry sur
face is not enough.
On a fiat, water may be seen stand
ing in the bitches to within a few
inches Of the surface of the road, in
which case both the subsoil and the
road coating must be softened by it
and remain so long after the water in
the ditch Is gone. A deeper ditch, a
larger culvert or Il drain cleaned out
through the adjoining land is usually
sufficient to remove the cause of great
mischief. On a hillside, springs under
the road and land water from the
sides can be cut off and led away by
underdrafns at a trifling cost.
The, road coating may often be inl-
proved in composition and rendered
harder by scraping, and a fairly good
surface can be maintained at all times
by proper care. With material of all
sorts the influence that good surface
has in keeping down wear IS greater
than might be supposed.
Everything should be done to- make
a road strong enough to bear the, traffic
without bending or cross breaking and
a reserve Of strength is always desir-
able. Fluctuations of traffic are most
trying. A road may be strong enough
to bear the ordinary loads that pass
over it and still be unable to support
the excessive weights that may be
brought upon it. When we know a
road is to be subjected to heavy strains
it is always better to strengthen it by
placing an extra coating upon the sur
face rather than wait until the road is
broken and disrupted. When a road
is broken or cut into by excessive
weights it Is no longer mere matter
Of replacing wear, but Of expensive re-
pair, and often of entire rebuilding.
To replace wear that is unavoidable
is a very simple matter when constant
attention is given to the road. 1t Is
only when the surface is neglected for
a long period that the matter of re-
pairs becomes q serious one. A little
attention to drainage, the removal OF
slight distractions from the cutters
the clearing away of rubbish from the
mouths Of culverts, the removal OF
grass and brush from bitches and the
careful spreading Of small quantities
of stone over depressions as soon as
they begin to appear will keep road
In fine condition until it Is almost en-
tirely worn out.
Nothing is more neglected than the
removal Of worn material from the
road. 1t seems to be regarded merely
mud and, as such, an unnecessary ex.
pense, while in reality this worn ma
terial affects the entire composition OF
the road covering. Consequently, un
less the mud is washed away by ma
ture from the surface, scraping OF
sweeping is necessary to preserve the
proper proportion of solid stone in the
road. Careful tests Of the composition
in our best road coverings have shown
that from three -fourths to four-fifths
, of the material is solid stone, the re
:, mainder being material fine enough Il
be washed through a cheese cloth
Further careful tests have demonstrat
ed that as this portion of fine stuff /:
exceeded will the road be soft, easily
acted upon by traffic water and frost
In consequence there will be an ex
cessive waste of road material.
From the foregoing it is readily seer
that the matter of road repair ant
, maintenance is one that requires con
, slant and careful attention. To attain
, the best results the most successful
:, means SO far employed Is TO assign
|. certain section to one man and hol,