Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1912-07-26

on a more permanent wearing sur
face-such as bituminous macadam
the cost of this will not appear so
great, In as much as the road will
not have to be relocated, nor grad
ed, which, in many cases, costs more
than putting on the more permanent
surface.
The subject naturally divides it
self into three parts, namely, the To-
cation or relocation. the construc-
ton, and the maintenance.
Location: In making the location
for a new road or relocating an old
one there are three things to be kept
constantly in mind. First is drain
age. If the road is expected to be
kept in good condition it must be so
located that good drainage can be
rrt vided for In places this may
necessitate siderable expenditure
for side bitches and culyerts ICON
crete is the best, and in the end the
most economical material for Gull
verts), but it Is a rare case where
too much money is spent to provide
good drainage. Second, grade. Usu-
ally the grade should not be made
sleeper than five feet rise in 100
feet horizontally, particularly so if
the grade is long. In ordinary coun-
try this can be accomplished without
excessive grading. Third, cost. In
order that the cost may be as low
as possible, as a rule, it is necessary
to locate so there will be as little
grading as possible. In rough coun-
try this will necessitate running
around hills rather than over them.
1t is unfortunate that section lines
run over hills instead of around
them, since most of our country
roads follow section lines unless the
hills are so steep that horse can
not possibly climb them. The writer
knows from experience that it Is no
simple matter to make a good loca-
ton of road; the best that can be
had under the conditions 1t is
fact, nevertheless, that you can not
find one man in ten who will admit
he can not locate road as good as
anybody. No matter whether he has
had experience or not, nor whether
he has even spent as much as ten
minutes thought on the subject, he
knows exactly where the road should
be located and is very free with sug-
gestions and advice Anybody can
locate road, but there is not one
man in 500 who can make the best
location possible, considering every
factor involved and giving each its
due weight. The point to be brought
out is this: When building or re-
building your roads be sure you have
selected the one man in your com
munity who can locate your road
right. If you have not got the man,
get him. You could not spend
money in better and more eco
nomical way.
Construction: Under this head
comes the execution of the work as
planned and laid out under location.
1t is very evident that most of the
country roads in this state were
neither located nor constructed.
They were just opened up" In
constructing the road the culverts
and bridges are first put in, the
grading is completed (cuts and fills
are made), thus reducing the road to
the desired grade line, side bitches
are made and the road is given the
proper transverse contour. 1t has
been suggested that the grade should
not be made sleeper than per cent
% feet in 1909. The width, unless
In rock cut, should not be less than
20 feet between side bitches. 1t
should have rise in the center of
about one foot, measured from the
top of the side bitches. 1t should
have seyen-eights of the total rise at
one-fourth of the width from the
center to the sides and five-eighths
of the total rise at one-half the
width. The best machines to use in
shaping the road are the traction en-
CINE and road grader If, by proper
maintenance, the road is kept in this
shape the water will flow gradually
into the side bitches cit will not flow
fast enough to wash) and be taken
away. 1t is not necessary to have
the side bitches very deep, the bot
tom of the bitches being about 30
inches below the center of the road.
Maintenance: To maintain an
earth road in good condit ton requires
constant watching and good intelli-
gent work. Many times l have seen
roads repaired simply by filling the