Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1906-10-27

tain traffic are good drainage OF sur-
face and SubSoil. 70 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
tcntion. and there is usually great
deal that can he done to improve it, 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 IL dry sur
face is not enough.
On a fiat, water may be seen stand
ing in the bitches 10 within Il few
inches of the surface of the road, in
which case both the SubSOil and the
road coating must be Softcncd 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 Il hillside springs under
the road ami land water from the
sides can be cut off and led away by
underdrainS at a tritiing cost
The road coating may often be i'm
proved in composition and rendered
harder by sCraping. and Il fairly good
surface can be maintained ut 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
road strong enough to bear the traffic
without bending or cross breaking and
Il 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 1t by
placing an extra coating upon the sur
face rather than wait until the road is
broken and disrupted. When road
is broken or cut into by excessive
weights it is no longer Il mere matter
of replacing wear but of expensive re-
pair, and often of entire rebuilding
TO replace wear that is unavoidable
is very simple matter when constant
attention Is given to the road. 1t is
only when the surface is neglected for
long period that the matter of re
pairs becomes Il serious one. \ little
attention to drainage, the removal of
slight Instructions 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 depressons as soon as
they begin to appear will keep Il 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
as n clearing of the surface from the
mud and, as such. an unnecessary ex-
pcnSe, while in reality this worn ma
tcral affects the entire composition Of
the road covering. Consequently, I'M
less the mud is washed away by ma
turc from the surface Scrapng or
sweeping Is necessary to preserve the
proper proportion of solid stone in the
road ('orpful pf thn rptnpnSitipn
in our best road coverings have shown
that from three -fourthS to fOur-fifth
of the material is solid stone, the re-
mainder being material fine enough to
e washed through cheese cloth
Further careful tests have demonstrate
ed that as this portion of fine stuff Is
exceeded will the road be soft, easily
acted upon hy traffic. water and frost.
In consequence there will be an ex-
ceSSive waste of road material.
From the foregoing it is readily seen
that the matter OF road repair and
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 n
certain section to one man and hold
him responsible for the roads state.