Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-08-24
WISCONSIN AND
BEST DIRT ROADS
FACTS UPON ITS COST AND
HOW IT is BEST MADE.
How FirStCldS Clay Roads are
Made Chedply and Easily When
Fundamental Principles are Fol
lOWed-Experiment BY Chds. W.
Gibson Proves a Success.

1t is almost too good to be true,
but it is fact nevertheless, that the
best dirt road in the state is one of
the cheapest. In Waupaca county
about six and half miles south of the
county seat an enterprising road over
seer, Mr.. Chas w. Gibson by name,
got tired of three-quatrer mile
stretch of bad clay road in his district
and fixed it up at a cost of twenty
four dollars SO that it is the best dirt
road in the state.
Before it was made over this road
was like most other dirt roads lower
than the ground alongside of it so
that the water couldn't get out of it
in any way but evaporating. The
ground was low so the evaporating
was slow process, and teams had
plenty chance to work the road into an
impossible bed of puddled clay of
about the right consistency to run
through a brick achlne to make
brick, but pretty poor stuff to travel
through, and through is literally the
word. When the water finally dried
up the Jumps baked to brick-like
hardness which made the road ex-
tremely uneven and hard to travel over
until they were beaten down by the
travel to form uwo-lnch layer of fine
dust.
But all this is changed Now the
road is never muddy in rainy weather
and there is almost no dust in dry
weather, and better still, the road is
in condition SO that it can be kept II
this desirable dustless and mudless
state for an annual cost of only three
to five dollars per mile.
All this sounds like a difficult thing
| to do but it was simple as could be.
Mr.. Gibson cut out the brush along
his road, ploWed the sides. turned the
dirt in toward the center with roaC
grader and made good rounded
grade of such shape that the water
readily found its way to the bitches
So far he did just like any other roao
| overseer does with his road machine
| But Mr.. Gibson went farther. He
| took forks and threw the sods outside
the bitches and narrowed the sofr
newly made grade to settle it anc
make it even Then after the frs
rain he went over it with d King
split-log road drag to fill up the rut:
| which the travel had made in the still
| loose dirt of the grade. lie repeated
the dragging after each subsequent
rain and after a few such treatments
had a road on which heavily loaded
wagon made hardly any impression
| even right after rain when mos
| clay roads would be all mud.
This road drag was made for the
town by the local blacksmith for abou
| five dollars. 1t consisted of an eighth
inch log split into two pieces. These
pieces were set up with the fiat face
forward and connected with wooder
braces to hold them about thirty incne!
apart. For about half it's length
the front log was shod along the lower
side of the face with steel and pro.
vided with chain to draw the appara-
tus by. A team was hooked on the
chain in such a manner that as the
drag was pulled along it lay at ar
angle with the road and worked a
little of the dirt toward the center
to fill the ruts.
+. By going over the roads after every
rain little soft puddled clay was
dragged toward the center filling the
ruts and keeping up the good rounded
shape of the grade so that water rar
off readily. This puddled clay was
packed into the ruts by the travel anc
dried hard as brick SO that it became
steadily harder for wheels to cut any
ruts in it, thus it came about also that
the road was not cut up into big clods
which could dry and be pounded int,
dust and so the road is nearly dustless
IN dry weather.
This simple operation can be per
formed after everv rain on any clay
road that is slightly rounded up, al
cost of only three to five dollars
mile per year-it is done for this cost
on mile after mile of Iowa roads.
The principle of the operation is that
it is road maintenance not reconstruc-
ton after the road has been allowed
TO go all to pieces. 1t is the same
principal that the railroads use in
keeping their road beds IN shape-the
same overworked rule we have al
been told times without number, anc
have Away believed in most heartily
as a good motto for the other fellow