The Mena weekly star., 1908-09-24
aPORTANCE OF ROAD DRAINAGE
sddino Roads of Storm and Under ] r,ound Water Subject of Thought
 ful Paper Sent Out by the
 Office of Public Roads.

With an average of 27,000 tons
 uate, falling ia the form ol
 ;n on each mile of public road
 ,be United States annually, Il
 scatcely to be marveled at that
 len commandments of the xoad builder can be summed ur
 ,cciuctly in the woid "drain- ge.'
 The saying has truth for ba-
 is. as good drainage is the pri- l|nary requisite for all roads. Ev. n in sand roads this holds true, for there "good drainage" means nch as will safely remove the s,orm water without erosion or r,llviug and still retain the sur Race moisture.
 To secure good drainage one ,nust take into consideration both he surface water and the under ,ronnd water. The surface wa fer must b. removed quickly and com pletely and without subject mo the road to excessive ~cour or erosion. For this reason, the S center of the road should be rais- # ed and the slope towards the side ' ditches should he from one bali 10 % one inch for each foot distance, or so that the water will run free # lv to the side ditches and not # flow down the road or remain In & puddles on the roadway. The k side ditches should be of ample \ size to care for the severest storms with fall of not less E than six inches to each 100 feet. Frequen, and ample cross drains should be constructed and every opportunity taken to get the wa ter away from the road as quick y as possible. Any road along which you see water standing in the side ditches or on which you see puddles of water collected or which has been badly gullied and eroded by the rains has poor drainage and is in need of imme drsle attention. In fact earth roads nearly always require lit tie attention after each rain.
 The split-log drag is essentially tool to maintain good drainage ou our earth roads, and should be used after each ram. On heavy clay or gumbo soii the drag when properly used tends to puddle the road surface, keep 1t free from ruts, dense, smooth and hard l, thus securing the best surface drainage possible.
 But in many places the under ground water $ too near the sur  face and must be removed before a good road will be possible. This means that some form oi sub drair age must be resorted to, usually tile drains, of clay or concrete. Water from whatever source must be gotten rid of ef- Actively, for water plus clay or gumbo invariably equals mud when mixed in spring aud sum. mer.
 In seepy and boggy places the sub drainage iu order to be fully effective should lower the water level to not less than three feet below the road surface. If tiles are used they should be carefully laid, true to grade. Most fail ures ln tile drainage can be attrib' uted 10 carelessness in laying, oi too flat grade. Tile less than four inches in diameter should rarely be used, nor should grade ot less than SIX inches to the LOG feet be used unless absolutely necessary. Ia very dense soi It IS always advisable to cover the tile to at least depth of six tc twelve inches with coarse sand or fine gravel. Care should al ways be taken to secure free outlet for the drains and to pro tect the outlet with concrete bulkhead or catch basin, which can always be kept clean and the outlet free.
 The kind of tile to be used de pends on local conditions. Con crete tile if properly made < equally as good as clay tile Which kind to use is entirely { local question of dollars ant cents. If concrete tile can b' made more cheaply than clay til, can be had, use concrete; if not