The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-07-30
road above the water to secure proper

road above the water to secure proper
drainage.
while a bridge would remedy the
trouble in some cases, it must be re-
membered that this circular is describ-
ing those sections which are financial
ly unable to build bridges at present.
Moreover, unless the bridge is built Of
something more permanent than wood,
there must be a constant outlay after
the maintenance of the bridge floor
"On the other hand, to make a fill
that would raise the road entirely out
Of the water would cost large amount
of money, and such a fill would re-
quire heavy protection on It's slopes. in
order that the water might not under
mine them. Where a small fill has
been made, the local authorities have
usually resorted to the corduroy road,
whic his one of the toughest and most
unsatisfactory roads in use. If the ma
terial used can absorb moisture to any
extent, the flll naturally becomes
gradually saturated. AS the water
must remain on or around the road, 1t
is necessary to use a material that
holds as little moisture as possible,
and to use it in such a manner as to
give a dry road with the least amount
Of materials.
There is scarcely a section Of the
south weber either rock, clay or sand
can not be obtained. Wherever there
is clay, brick will probably be made,
and wherever there is a brick kiln, IL
is possible to secure old brickbats, or
at any rate they can generally be
found around the sites of old brick
buildings.
1.-The method Of construction for
roads of this description is the same,
whether rock, brickbats or sand are
used. The road is first formed, in
V-shape by either excavating in the
center and throwing the material to
the sides or by filling the materials
in at the sides of the W This W is
next filled with either rock, brickbats,
or sand. If it is filed with rock, the
largest sized pieces are kept at the
point Of the W while the smallest are
used at the top. For 15-foot roadbed
the rock is placed from IS to "a inches
thick in the center and to a depth or
about s inches at point IL feet on
each side of the center. The top is
then dressed off with natural soil and
a road drag is used.
eff it is filled with brickbats or
sand, the same method is used. The
sand section will remain damp. and,
since sand supports a load better when
damp than when dry. this is an ad-
vantage.
This type Of road is more salts
factory than the old corduroy road,
and far less expensive to maintain, be-
cause the use of the road drag and
an occasional renewal Of material when
settlement takes place will be the only
item of expense. In some sections the
W has been filled with logs laid paral-
lei with the road, but this method is
not recommended except as tempo
rary measure.
after hard or prolonged rains,
roads which have been constructed
with a fat surface are often quilted in
the center, or, if the road was well
crowned, the cutters or bitches are
usually badly washed.
LAS a rule the damage is more ex-
tensive on grades than on level
stretches This is because the dam
age in general depends upon the We
locity of the water, and this Of course
is controlled by the steepness Of the
slope If the water cuts the bitches
very deep, 1t might be advisable to
reduce the grade Of the road, II posi-
BILE, either by cutting down the sum-
NIT or filling at the foot of the hill,
or both It must be remembered that
this is likely to be economical in the
end even If at first cost II seems high,
but since II will not only save on fu-
ture maintenance, but will decrease the
tractive force required to pull a load
at this point. There are, however,
many grades that cannot be changed
because Of local conditions, and 1t is
the aim of this circular to deal with
these cases.
In the case Of the sandy sections
the wash may be effectively stopped
by Pinch planks from to IL inches
wide and out into 3-foot sections.
These blanks are sharpened on one end
and then enough Of them to cover 3
feet in width Of the gutter or ditch
are driven in edge to edge for depth
of over feet at rightangles to the
grade Of the road If they are driven
in a little more than flush with the
gutter there is no danger Of the road
machine or drag striking them.
In a clay section ii Is probably i'm
possible to drive q plank feet with
out splintering it The method Of con-
struction is entirely different from that
described for sandy sections. Old logs
or railroad ties, if they can be Sc
cured, are better under these condi-