Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1909-02-10
I0NA'S FINE ROADS.
How a Sand Highway Was In
proved With Clay.
ECONOMY OF DIRT ROADS.

|
The Building and improvement Of
Hill Reads.
Iowa has 102.44S miles Of highway
OF these | ij3 miles are gravel rcaG,
and 2ll miles are stone roads. As ev..
dencc Of tho fact Tat the citizens cf
this great state are bccprliHg aroused
to the inheritance .cf ni,.hway in-
provcmeni thc state Lei ',a;urr 80 1904
passed II law making, he state college
a highway commission Th"y ronlzeh
that such III aci would in~rcasp the
value sc the farm land3 Of The state.
would improve the condition Of the
merchants rs well rs the farmers and
would thus work for the bpnedi II Nll
classes Of society. There Is probably
no influence which is more potent in
the development Of the state than that
Of the good roads. 1t brings the farm
er nearer TO town. 1t increases the
prosperity Of the merchant and I'M
proves the social condition among rv-
raj classes.
Since the enactment Of this law four
good roads conventions and schoolg
have been held. The first two met at
Ames, the third at Council Bluffs and
the fourth at Waterloo Aug. 10 TO 10
inclusive. At each session it was the
purpose to supplement the program
with practical demonstration work ia
road building. says II. E. Colby in
Farm and Fireside At Waterloo
about half mile Of sand road was
improved. This work was done b.
cutting down a hill In the vicinity Of
the stretch that was being improved
and carrying soil which contained
portion Of clay to the sand road Here
It was thoroughly mixed with the
sand, thus combining the good effects
Of both and eliminating, so far as pos
sible, the bad qualities of both.
w. L. Spoon Of the good roads de-
partment of Washington was in charge |
Of the work. He was also upon the |
program, and in his address he spoke |
Of the sand road as being the only one |
which runs uphill both ways. Sand
heads the list of bad roads. Wher |
ever a thoroughly good dirt road is eX
amined 1t will be found to contain at |
least portion Of sand and n portion of |
clay. No matter how closely the sand |
may be packed, there are spaces be-
tween the grains that cannot be filed.
The proper substance with which to
fill these yOids Is clay. If the two /
elements are not naturally mixed the
only thing to do Is to bring them to
gether and mix them mechanically by |
blowing and narrowing. This should
be done while the sand and clay are
wet. In fact. they can hardly be too
wet to be thoroughly worked together.
If the road is sandy the clay should
be drawn on. If It is clay the sand
should be mixed with the mud Fol-
lowing up the building Of such n good
road with persistent dragging will
make almost an ideal highway
Between Council Bluffs and Omaha
there is a stretch Of road three miles
long Over this 10 wagons on the av-
erage pass every day Each carries
a load of five tons or more This IS =
dirt road and is kept in fine condition
Mt thoroughly economical figure. tt |
builder, Colonel w. +. Baker Of Coun
FL Bluffs, spoke upon the building and
Of a dirt road. He woult
advocate this in place Of macadam, be
cause the dirt road can be built for a
great deal less than macadam. and It
IAN be maintained at from l to IL pei
,ent of the expense necessary for |
macadam road. BY the
Use of the road drag Mr. Baker showed
hat It would be possible to reduce the
'oad tax at least so per cent within SIX
zearS.
The building and improvement of
ill roads were discussed by Mr. Dye
lie showed how by the use of the plOw
md split log drag the processes Of ma
ure might be used to improve the hill
Dad. His idea was to plow Il furrow
t each side Of the hill and carry the
oil toward the middle of the road.
lie would not have a crown on hill
Dad, but he would simply have it so
ralned that the water would not wash
n the middle. Each rain would have
tendency to cut down the surface Of
he road, carrying the soil from the
Op OF the hill to the bottom. BY dis
this by the use Of the drag 1t
possible to materially reduce the :
rade In the billy country each year ;
8 an evidence of the practical work 9
l Mr.. Dyes system he maintained =
llrty-six miles of road I'm billy sec y
on Of the state with an appropriation ;.
$3.50 n year 1t was necessary to =
SIX for Il little donated labor, but that
as decidedly minor matter -
Curtis Hill, the state highway engi- n
eer of Missouri. spoke upOn the =
hiding of stone roads. He said that .
was necessary to consider the hard =,
ess, the toughness and the cementing o
hue of stone I'm selecting 1t for the :,
lrpOse Of road building. The gravel -
'hich is commonly dug from the II
avel bank contains enough lime to .,
'ovide the cementlng qualities If Il
Her cannot be afforded 1t is advisa- ~
G to spread this gravel as evenly rs >,
,ssibe and let the traffic pack 1t. He n
ould not recommend dumping the n
avel Il load ut time. because Ia so -,
ing certain spots Of the road become -