The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-08-15
AYERS RECOMMENDS
SAND-CLAY ROADS

an. .hs farmer better roads fre.
auently mean the diiferenee between
ssssnenee and bankruptcy. said Prof. |
Ernest Flagg Ayres. highway engineer
~ ~ the Oregon Agricultural College in |
a lecture this week 70 the summer
s'.usnIi .sa Wisconsin farmer held 1000 bush |
= na,atoes in his cellar waiting far
e's aa - nr;ee He was Offered 80 cents
q Msrcb but they must be delivered
~ .... and the roads were 50 bad he
could not haul over tnem. When he
finally got them to market nis potatoes
brought him 80 cents nushel. The
had roads cost him sou. ana now be is
an ardent booster for any movement
promising relief. -,
"While the farmer receives as great
e,anc;al gain from good roads as any
ana he has the ADDED social benefits.
JfnSar the nresent conditions il is often
;mnossible for his. children to 20 ia
school regularly, Instantly to go to
church except when lhe roads are
dried out, his doctor 10 reach him in
time To be of most help, or,hs mail to
he delivered regularly. With better
roads this can all be changed, and
Graded schools and larger churches al
wavs follow these improvements.
!. iIt is not necessary that great
deal of money be spent on our high.
wavs hut what is invested should be
used carefully and intelhgently. A
| few dollars spent at the right time
will save repairs costing hundreds, and
most of the roads where there is no
heavy travel may be improved in this
Mr.. Ayres then described the pro.
cess of building sand-clay roads; the
/. initial grading with proper crown
and drainage bitches, the distribution
and hacking of the clay spreading Of
the sand. and plowing and narrowing
lit in lightly on top. This type of
road has given excellent satisfaction in
the southern and middle western
states. but little work of the sort has
heen done as yet in the Pacific north.
west. 1t has proved successful in soils
and climatic conditions similar to those
found in Oregon, and there is no ques
tion as to its value for our rural high
ways.
1.-THE saving in expense over othel
forms of rural road Is no mean item,
continues Prof. Ayres. The average
cost for sand clay roads is but S723 1
mile for the "a, COL miles in the Unitet
States. compared with cost of 81, 96'
a mile for macadam. In other words
: about seven miles of good sand-cla.
road can be built for the same none
as one mile of plain or wster-boun
! macadam. The cost Of maintenance j
9 less than for any other form of in
! provement except the earth road, an
E horses and automobiles alike perfer
D to any of the hard surface roads.
The road must first be graded an
I drained carefully, and should b
Z crowned about one inch to the foot an
smooth as a rag. 1t can be great
!, improved by adding sand even if n
t grading has been done, but the expens
!. will be much greater. The sand mus
be sharp and coarse. but need not B
< as clean as is required for concrete.
should be brought and piled along tt
shoulders of the road in dry westht
:, when teaming is cheaper, though col
struction can not begin until the rail-
soften the clay. The cheapest way
to spread the sand four to six inch,
deep over the wet clay and let Il
n traffic mix the materials. Economy
). the only argument for this, and
4 more sand is usually required to I
!, the ruts aud holes Sormed by =
Heavier teams, even this advantage
n some times lost. The road il alme
= = impossible to heavy loads until t
a sand and clay are thoroughly mixed.
A better way is to spread the sa
:. : to a width of IL or l6 feet, mixiI
e we'll with a plow or harrow. A dep
r of six inches is enough for light trav
4 and foot for heavy loads. The roi
i drag should be used often to mainta
e the crown and fill ruts which will for
I, in the first few months. If the ros
!. does not compare favorably vii
r gravel or macadam as soon as the sar
: is added to the clay, 1t should not
J. considered failure. Its constructio
,,es is a gradual process, and the surfat
!, will not be at its best in less than 81
: months. If it gets muddy, add MOI
al sand; if it is too dry and dusty moi
4. clay is needed. All that is require
# for maintenance is the addition of
r. little more sand and clay each yea
y y and the occasional use of drag.