The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1910-01-21

Antedating the surface must come
d1rectness to your road, then the re-
duct1on of these grades to a minimum,
then the question OF drainage. OF
these the most important is under and
surface drainage, after which comes
the question of surfacing, the least i'm
portant Of all things connected with
road building. You want directnesy to
your road to shorten the distance and
minimize the danger and to carry the
surface water to its nearest and best
exit point. 1t is not enough to get the
water off and out from the road, but it
must be got away from the road.
When we have done this we can COM
mence TO properly construct the SUBJ
grade, and not before.
AS general proposition, in accom-
pishing well built sub-grade it is al
ways well to remove all loan, roots
and vegetable matter from the pro-
posed travel part of the road; also
everything of Il springy nature or any
thing found in excavating for said
roadway that will be liable to heave or
settle and fill all such places with
clean SanQ or gravel.
Where it is necessary to fill to bring
the sub-grade up to the height required
! have found in my practice where the
filling exceeds one foot in depth that
the filling should be deposited in
courses not to exceed twelve inches in
depth, loose measurement, and require
that each course shall be extended
across tho antira fill and complatod ho
fore commencing another course, no
matter if the fill be two or twenty
feet. And this method should be fol-
lowed with each succeeding course un-
til the established grade is reached.
The constant travelling over each Of
the courses by the teams employed in
handling the material will remove the
possibility of ever having cracked
fill or one that will slide after the road
has been constructed. This is very
important matter, | find. and l have
used it in my work in my own state.
also find that in the cuts it is well
not to plow down below that point
that is to be the finished grade of the
grade, but to keep it sufficient
height above that so that when the
roller is placed on the work it, will
make good solid foundation, and you
will not have to resort to filing in the
cut to bring the sub-grade up to the
grade desired. These two principles
of cut and fill will be found to work
to great advantage in the proper con-
struction of road.
The shape. or contour, of the sub
grade has been somewhat matter of
controversy, some engineers holding to
the level line foundation and putting
on an extra depth of stone or material
in the center to make the contour OF
sled from the center line OF the road
to the berms. or shoulders, while other
engineers have given the sub-grade or
foundation upon which the wearing
material is to be placed the same con-
tour as the finished road. have used
this latter method in my own work in
| my state by reason of the fact l be-
lieve it makes better foundation and
that the uniform depth of stone at the
shoulders will assist in holding the
crown Of the road in shape and fur
nish a sustainment at the shoulder
line better than to have less depth
Of stone at the shoulders and greater
depth at the center of the road. 1t
also assists in case of a breaking up of
the road or a fracture or other devel-
| opments in draining to the side, or
shoulder. of the road.
The forming of the shoulders Is a
very important matter. They are real
! ly the support Of the road. 1t has al
ways been my practice when making a
shoulder in the fills to lay out my road
and put the newly added material ten
or twelve inches into the new travel
path. tamping it down firmly and then
cutting back to the line. thereby max
ing good. firm shoulder to work to
and to hold in place the stone or grav-
el in the travel path of the road.
1t is difficult matter to treat this
question as intelligently through the
medium Of the written word as it
would be with charts, but if these
principles are followed in building the
sub-grade a good foundation upon
which to put the wearing surface will
result.-James H. Macdonald. State
Highway Commissioner of Connecti-
cut, in Good Roads Magazine, New
York.