The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1909-05-27
Country Roads.
State Highway Dept. Offers Some Valu.
able Suggestions.

from the State highway department this
spring is a bulletin on the improvement
of country roads, which is timely as well
as valuable. In its introduction it emu
merates the ways in which country roads
in general may be improved, and which
are as follows: By cutting out the bushes
and grubbing out the roots; by straight
ening the graded portions of the road
and by taking out the short, sharp and
dangerous corners and curves; by WIDEN
ing the roads; by improving the drainage
and by cutting down tine hills. On the
subject Of cutting out the bushes the bull
1etin says:
''There are miles of our country roads
be made until the bushes are first remov-
ed. Indeed, the thorough removal of
these bushes would be of great value to
the roads, in allowing the sun and wind
to dry the surface early in the spring.
When bushes are removed, the roots
should be grubbed out, and both bushes
and roots piled neatly and burned as soon
as dry. Under no circumstances should
they be thrown into the side bitches, back
against the fences or upon adjoining land.
Highway rights of way should present
as neat an appearance as do the railroad
rights of way and if the above sugges-
lions are followed in performing this
work and little care taken in clearing
up after the work is completed our road
sides can gradually be made permanently
attractive"
On the subject of Strengthening the
roads the bulletin truthfully says that
many of the country roads present a
crooked appearance, (when in reality the
location is straight line, the crooks
having been made when the road was
graded to relieve the builders from grub
bling out a stump or removing boulder
AS a remedy for this trouble the bulletin
says: eff improvement is contemplated
on a road in this condition, by all means
the grade so that the finished road will
bear the marks of good workmanship.
By the use of few stakes for lining up
new work, road commissioners will in
widening roads, be able to make use of
all of the old grade and have a good
straight road as result.
Good advice is also given Oh the subject
of maintaining the roads at proper
width by keeping the bushes from en-
croaching on the cutters, and in keeping
the roads we'll drained. The width of
road recommended is 16 feet, at least, the
width to be suited by the amount Of traf-
fic passing over the road, and must be
governed by local conditions. Elimina-
ton of steep grades by cutting off the
tops of hills and filling in at the bottom
is recommended. On this subject the
bulletin says:
1.-The gain that can be made by the re-
duction of grades is best shown by actual
experiments by which the following has
been demonstrated. A pair of horses
can, with the same effort draw:
1900 pounds on 5 per cent. grade, or l
foot rise in 20 feet
2l60 pounds on 4 per cent. grade, or
l foot rise in Is feet.
$3.50 pounds on ID per cent. grade,
or l foot rise in 40 feet.
5000 pounds on 2 per cent grade, or
l foot rise in so feet
5000 pounds on l per cent. grade, or
foot rise in 100 feet.
1000 pounds on a level road. ="
The following suggestions are made
for maintenance work:
I'm maintaining or repairing the sur
face of any road, filling depressions and
ruts, material like that composing the
surface should be used in order that
perfect union or bond between the old
material and the new may be obtained,
and the resulting surface be uniform.
mo one would think of repairing a
macadam or crushed stone road with
clay; neither should surface depressions
or ruts in clay or other earth road be
filled with stone. In the latter case a
depression, if filled with stone will
which the travel will make a new depres-
sion, thus giving two depressions or mud
holes in place of the original one
''SOdS and vapata hle ma tters should not
be used upon the surface of any road I'M
less it be sand. On first thought it
might be said that this material would
tougher the surface, but it wears out or
decays quickly and will never unite with
the original surface. When sods are
placed within foot of the surface frost
coming ont of the ground causes cleav-
age of the sod from the adjoining earth
over or under it thereby making open
spaces for the accumulation Of water
which will cause either mires or wash
outs in the road.
In repairing roads by use of the road
machine all sods brought to the center of
the road from the shoulders and sides
should be raked out and carried away.
The old worn out material, too, that has
been washed from the center or surface
of the road upon the shoulders and into
bIle UTILITIES is uOl III W surface VI STdQe
good road with; properly it should be
scraped up and hauled away and put on
the slope of some embankment There
is more or less manure in the road wash
ings and it will be good fertilizer to use
whenever it is desired to encourage the
growth of sods to prevent washing of
slopes:
bringing this worn out dust and dirt
upon the center of road and leaving it
seems to US to be about on a parallel
with the housewife sweeping all dust
and dirt from the corners and edges of
room into the center of the floor and
leaving it to be scattered and tracked
over the room again. There is not a
householder in the State of Maine who
would countenance that kind of house
cleaning. We hope public sentiment will
at no very distant day denounce this sys-
TEN of road repairing, which we believe
is too prevalent.
more new material drawn upon the
roads in wagons is what is needed and
less dependence on road machine work.
The latter is all right to grade and shape
roads with and keep them shaped, but
as ordinarily used it simply puts upon the
road year after year material that is
more or less worn out.
''When bitches are cleaned out, the