The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-05-09

select Q route more intelligentiy. make an approximate estimate as to the cost, and carefully study all<the engineering features to be considered, as grades. alignment. drainage. and maitainence of the road with the least cost In other words a highway should be To- cated and surveyed in the same way as railroad. though the conditions are nothing like as rigid.
 The materials that can be had in AL abama for the constructing and main- taining of highways are clay. sand. gravel, and broken stone. In many portions of our State where stone can be had the macadam system of road building should be adhered to. which l-consists mainly in constructing foun- dation of earth which should be thor oughiy competed by rolling, then up- on this foundation from one to two layers of broken stone in cubes of nearly uniform size should be spread erine of fine sand or dust. This meth cd is very expensive. and 1t is doubtful twhether the importance of many of our roads would warrant this class of con- struction, though believe this class of work would give satisfactory re- suits on highways leading into our larger cities and towns. Where 1t Is pfaCltCaBtS tO ConatIuCt InAIaUAA TQ8QH the work should be carefully inspected from time to time as to the manner of laying. the nature and character of stone used, as to its quality. durability | toughness, etc.
 l In many parts of our State gravel 1 can be had, which is a very valuable aR we'll as durable material for road con- struction and Is much cheaper than the macadam system. although this ciass of construction as q rule requires mora frequent repairing, and the cost of maintainence is rather heavy. Gravel taken from pits makes splendid ma terial for road building. but where ft occurs mixed with fine loamy material and large pebbles 1t should be screened | before using. The gravel used should | be sharp, clean. and free from all veg l etable matter. Where gravel is used l from streams and is gotten from the surface or top soil. it has little if any binding material. as 1t Is generally rounded and smooth, due to erosion, so 1t would be we'll to add ordinary red or brown ore. and where this material | Is not available, a small amount of clay may be substituted. In great many l parts of our State 1t would not be wiss to use either stone or gravel owing | to the scarcity of<these materials. Hero we should adopt the method of con. structing with sand and clay, which l properly mixed makes an excellent ma. | terial for roads. The use of loam should be avoided. as it Is a very poor material for road building. in fact. all material containing vegetable matter should be avoided. Tn highway con- l struction a road blow designed and manufactured for this purpose should be used which will stand the draft of several teams-''as a rule about three teams are used"
 The material is 1oosened with thls blow and is followed by the road ma l chine which has large steel blade and can be adjusted to the desired position. so as to leave a crown in the center of the road. and the road is left nearly in l a uniform shape with but little labor. This should be followed with a roller and during this process the high places should be cut down and the low places flied up The use of the roller is very l essential. because. if the road bed ia l turally pack uneveniy and be cut up with ruts. which will tend to cause mud holes and poor drainage.
 Maintainfngs Them.
 One of the most essential features in the construction of highways in the looking forward to the maintainence of the road. In order to be properly maintained, the drainage of a road must be carefully handled, as poor drainage is the most damag-
 ing factor to be considered. When the construction of a road Is completed all stumps and vegetable matter of whatever nature should have been re- moved. a crown should De left in the center in order to turn the rain water in the side ditches, and in many cases wooden boxes or terra cotta pipes for culverts should be used to pass the water under the road bed. In other words our roads should be built with a uniform surface and rounded similar in form to the principal streets in our cities.
 In maintaining our highways they | should have constant attention. and when necessary. should be repaired as soon as possible. as the cost of re- pairing them would then be lessened greatly. A good road is one, with an easy grade, dry. solid, smooth and thoroughly drained. bad road Is one constructed of material that becomes
 water soaked or holds water on the surface. which will soon find its way to