Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-10-19
SURFAC|NG OF ROADS
An Excellent Foundation Is a
Prime Necessity.
MUST Be FREE FROM WATER
Provision Should Be Made For Thor
cugh Drainase-How to Roll the
Foundation-Materia to Use For
Surfacing Rural Highways.


material is applied to road all the
preliminary work should be cOmplet-
ed. The road Should have been grad
al, drains provided and the road made
safe by proper guard rails. With all
this done, the dirt road is n founda
tlon for the different materials that
may be put upon it.
For country roads there need be
considered only pavements that are
ss,ot on in small fragments. The ma
terials most commonly used are gravel
and broken stone. Oyster shells and
Stag from iron furnaces are oftentimes
employed in localities where these ma
terinls are at hand, while under GER
tain conditions, when no other ma
SERIALS could be obtained, burnt clay
has proved serviceabe. The object of
Il pavement is to furnish wearing
surface for the road and protection
for the foundation from water and con.
ss.uuent softening. 1t is in reality a
roof.
When dry, all but the very sandy
spills are firm enough to support the
weight of wagons Of all kinds. but
when wet little support is furnished.
1t is we'll known that sand when con-
Fined will stand any pressure that can
be put upon it. Thus If a sandy road
bed is covered with surfacing ma
terjai which will hold the sand in place
an excellent foundation is obtained.
While q surfacing material Is designed
To take the wear, it Is the foundation
that must resist the pressure. and any
road which is constructed without CIV
Ing due attention to the foundation is
wrong from the start ana never Will
1>e a good road until the defect is rem
edied. TO prepare natural roadbcd
fes 'surfacing material it is necessary
r. A'rin" II 10 . proper grade ana to
eNnform its cross section with that of
the finished surface-that is, no sur
Facing should be put upon roadbed
w hich is fiat or, rs is oftentimes the
c.tse. lower ia the middle than at the
81 lfes. In such instances the proper
shape should be given to the roadbed
Hr filling in with such material as is
xle,y,AenGF and then rolling the whole
,lntil it becomes firm and unyiellinG.
During the course of construction OF
"a roadbcd if there are places that
have Il wet spl'ingy subsoil, they must
EDe drained and every precaution taken
ru make the Foundation of the road
elry. Tho pavement will keep water
Srom going through from the top. but
IL will not keep water from percolatlng
snro the foundation from springs at
the sides OF underneath. Therefore
where there is danger of water get
ting to the foundation from the sides
sE from below it must be cut off eithe"
hr side drains on by drains directly I'M
tIeneath the road itself. Where the
soil is too light. gravelly or sandy earth
should be cartcd in TO take its place.
with tnc roadbed brought up to
grade and provision made for thor
&Hlgh drainage it is then compacted by
Welling either by horse or steam power.
In the rolling of the foundation per-
haps quite as good results can be OBJ
tained with horse roller as with a
steam roller. and in some loose soils
much less difficulty will be experienced.
although more rolling will be required
to compact the earth as firmly as by
the heavier steam roller. This Is a
part of the work that Is too often
aslighted and is the cause of depres-
ssions subsequently appearing in the
ainished road. The rolling of the foun-
.lation will bring out the weaker
places. where there will be settling
T'ne depressions should be filled and
e1a'ught to an even surface with gray
al IL it is at hand. 1t is cheaper to
even UP depressions by rolling the
Foundation than by attempting to
smooth the finished surface with addi-
fional broken stone. When the founda-
t1Dn has been rolled and all unevenness
HAS disappeared 1t is then ready to re-
s1elve, the e,lrfacing.
1t oftcntines happens when grading
al particular piece of road preparatory
To surfacing it with broken stone that
nj Is necessary to do considerable
s1eavy filling In such instances it may
Me advisable to delay the laying Of
rnacadam for some time in order to
give the emtankments time to settle
For it is impossible to construct an en-
oankment of earth more than a few
serL Al - 60 i, without having subse-
s17le"t e"ttiement. If this settling took
place evenly all along the embankment,
nd particular harm would be done to
she surfacing laid upon it, but owing
no the difference in the soils composing
@mbankments and also the way the
earth is dumped there is always tend
tency for some parts to settle more than
Others.
If there arise circumstances making
1t impracticable to wait for the en-
hankment TO season." every precau.
Gfcn should be taken in its formation
NO guard against uneven settling. This
can be done by spreading the earth in
successive layers of about foot in
thickness, which are rolled or tamped
as solid as possible. Another advan-
tage in delaying the surfacing of a
newly graded road is that n chance is
EHven to observe the action under frost