The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-12-15

l D1SduS Tie improvement VI OuT OWll
property.
"The people of these states have so
| long been under the impression that
road money has been wasted they rath-
| er hesitate about putting more money
| into roads The money has been lost on
| account of a lack of knowledge of ef-
| ficient work Whenever the general
public is willing to submit to scientific
and competent supervision and leave
politics out of the affair, we will get
| good roads.
state tax and expert supervision is
the prescription of good roads. There
are no. more than one out of ten of
our petty road officials who have a
competent knowledge of road making.
1t is the fault of our venerable system
and not he officials, as they are gen.
| orally honest.
Like everything else it depends
largely upon the individual put III
charge. Our law is in many places
poorly applied, but our law is good"
| Mr.. Hill is a strong advocate of put
| ting convicts on road construction and
talked at length on this point.
Mr.. Gort's Speech.
During the afternoon w. R. Gort
president of the Oklahoma Good
Roads association, gave an address
| on Road Construction and Drain
age" 1t follows:
ITO undertake to locate drain and
construct a road, without plans would
subject one to just criticism. Skilled
location of road accurately deter
mines route, drainage and grades.
The use of any material for culverts
bridges or surfacing of road that
will not resist the elements is repre-
hensible indeed; and should not be
countenanced, if permanent construc-
ton is intended or desired.
Where the monies are derived
from the voting of bonds posterity
has every right to expect that the
road will endure until the bonds ma
ture. Education is the one great fac
tor that makes the engineer a neces-
sity in road location and construction
and his education qualities him to
obtain results, whereas one unframed
and uneducated usually leaves us In
the Mud A mixture of soil and wat
er produces mud. Remove and pre-
vent the water from obtaining access
to the soils and evaporation will leave
only dry soil remaining.
Drainage is simple remedy for
the treatment of a mudhole which
can be applied by any ordinary NOR
tai. There do be mortals who ven
who do attempt to run water up hill.
an undertaking never accomplished
nv tho '--4~est road overseer who built
a mud hole.
'Jra4Aa5e follows location and
should receive careful consideration
.
material necessary for construction
of embankment should be borrowed
in such manner as to leave perfect
drainage in both bitches and permit
free run-off of the storm water, as
perfect drainage and proper diverting
of storm waters are the basic prin-
ciples in the construction and MAIN
tenance of roads.
Avoid concentration of storm wat
er and do not attempt to carry it in
-
save. the cost of an additional culVert.
Dispose of it at the first opportunity
and when an embankmeIit across a
waterway obStructs the free run-off
of the storm water provide a culvert
of adequate size to accommodate the
storm water from each drainage area
centering at each identical waterway.
Keep the sub-base drained and
dry and it will reduce the cost of
maintenance to a minimum. The only
enemy OF good roads that must be
continually combated is water. Un-
molested it will undermine and wash
away the most expensive and care
fully constructed roadway. Build
from the sub base up.
storm water conducted long dis
tances in ditch on the upper side of
a roadway is constantly augmented by
run-off from intersecting water courses
which it ultimately concentrates and
renders difficult to handle, whereas If
disposed of at frequent intervals when
the volume Is limited by small perma-
nent culverts constructed of vitrified
culvert pipe where sizes will permit or
stone masonry or cement concrete when
larger culverts are required, the con-
centratfon of the storm water does not
result and its disposal is easily and
economically accomplished We refer
to vitrif1ed culvert pipe particularly. for
the reason, that an established gradient
can always be maintained and a fixed
velocity secured whereby the capacity
can always be accurately determined.
Construction of CuIverts.
I'm the construction of culverts vitri-
fled pipe will prove to be the most con-
venient, durable and economical when
ever it will accommodate the volume of
storm water required to be handled
Purged by the fires of the kilns of all
that is volatile and fused together by
the intense heat until it is a homogene-
Gus mass as dense as glass, it has all
the strength of steel, resisting the ac-
tion of the elements and enduring for
all time. Fall is the factor that de-
termines the velocity of the water and
the carrying capacity of the f1ow-line.
The accelerated velocity on a continu-
Gus gradient being due to gravity Con-
serve it and utilize it and you will find
it a valuable asset which will decrease
the cost of culverts. Increasing the
cross section of a culvert may not
necessarily increase the capacity of the
culvert nrovided less fall obtains.
'The capacity of a "a inch pipe on a
fall of one inch to the 100 feet has a
carrying capacity of 1896 gallons per
minute. Increase the fall to Sc inches
to the 100 feet, and it will have a carry
ing capacity of 14,466 gallons per min
ute. which is over six times the ca
pacity it had on one inch of fall. there
fore care should be taken to utilize all
the available fall that the velocity may
be secured to assist in handling the
run-off The area of a "a inch pipe is
452 square inches, whereas the area of
an Is inch pipe is 254 square inches and
the capacity of the two 1s inch pipes on
any stated fall, is approximately the
same as the capacity of one "a inch pipe
on the Identical fall
Remember that increasing the fall
increases the velocity which increases