The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1912-02-23
HIGHWAY DRAINAGE.
BY E. F. Ayres, Highway Engineer
Oregon Agricultural College.)

| tBy ~. +. Ayres, highway Engineer,
Oregon Agricultural College.)
Oregon Agricultural College, Cor
| vallis.-It has been said that one of
! the saddest sights in Nature is af-
| forded by the man who gets Stalled"
in mudhole with his load of pro-
duce, and wears out his whip, his
| temper, his vocabulary, his religion
and his team in vain attempt to
get to market. And yet this same
gentleman will probably oppose any
suggestion that the road should be
improved on the plea that the cost
would be excessive. OverZealous
friends of the Good Roads move
ment are largely responsible for the
idea that no road can be called i'm,
proved without the use of some ex
| pensive surfacing, and this concep
tion must be corrected before Ore
gon will fix her earth roads suffi
GENTLY to sustain the traffic. AS long
as this doctrine is confined to those
who openly oppose any attempt tG
better our primary transportation
system, very little harm is done, bui
when it is found to be the accepted
faith of many road supervisors, II
assumes serious proportions.
/ In the construction of the most ex
pensive pavement, not one ounce oi
road metal can be spread until proper
drainage has been provided or iI
other words, until first class earth
wood hnc hpnn ht1i1t N nj hf
Isurfacing. If this work is essentia
a few days before the stone is ap
piled, why not try it few year!
ahead and save time and money wher
the increased traffic warrants thu
larger expenditure. Many of our coun
try roads will need no surfacing fo
many years if they are given a littl'
: attention now.
There are three rules which mus
be remembered in the building o
any road, from the mountain trail II
the city street. 1st, get the watel
off the road; End, get the water ou
from under the road; 3rd, get thu
water away from the road II thes,
! rules are followed you will have
pretty fair road in any country, I'm
/ lCOo JOu HdpDCh W UC Dulltlll}
through a sandy country, in whicl
] case all rules should be reversed
To get the water off the road, /
is simply necessary to keep the rut
well filled, and provide sufficien
crown to carry the water to the sid
ditches In the heavier soils of tn
Willamette Valley crown of / inc
: to 11a inches to the foot will be an
pie. On very wide roads this can b
: reduced slightly, but it is rarely NJ
cessary to build road over 80 fec
n wide between ditch lines. On mario,
a roads, such as are sometimes un;
voidable in the mountains, the di
| tance from top of crown to bottom {
Il ditch should be at least IL inche
The crown should not be increase
in this case, the extra depth beir
'e furnished at the ditch line.
u Everyone knows that the grade
hill limits the load which can
I'd hauled over it, but few realize Il
IL effect these excessive grades have {
- maintenance and drainage. All grad
over per cent should be reduc,
If possible, for on sleeper slopes Il
water will be very apt to cut
'ts own channel in the center of Il
:" travelled way instead of going
the bitches, II the crown is increas
to point where the water will sh
a quickly, the road Is dangerous {
ne traffic. The road will not rut bad
tn but the top layer of earth will
very slippery, and large crown W
be likely to slide wagons into {
ditch. The old road builders to
care of the problem by buildi
Z" thankyou-marms, or water breal
I'd and while these had their use
one time, they should no longer
- tolerated in civilized communit
- III the same energy expended in Il
y construction of these abominatio
~ is used in reducing grades and crow
=, ing the road, there will be no furth
n use for their existence.
~ Not only must the steep grade
ba avoided in highway construction, b
. care must be taken that the road
m moss not too level Water must have
Pa slope of at least inches in 100 fe
&c as to flow freely In the bitches, al
hn no road should be built with le
4 grade, but in such cases the ditt
- must be given the minimum sloI
- and the water taken away at fl
quent intervals. The better plan
to raise the road above the surroun
ing country, and then build to Il
81 minimum grade in even undulatio
of about 500 feet
1t is a comparatively easy matt
3 to get the water off the road Il
real trouble beginning when we I
to get the water out from under Il
q road. In this respect the road build
in a sandy country has the adval
age, for he is never troubled wi
either springs or seepage. The hea
ier soils will develop soft spots al
holes which seem to be bottomles
even after the surface has been thu
oughly drained The road drag fai
to remedy conditions, and all grav
r stone, brush or other material dun
ed in the holes is soon lost.
1t is very probable that this di
Guilty is caused by the undergroul
spring, and the first problem Is
locate its source, remembering tn
this is rarely found at the spot whe
the trouble develops. When it
been found, excavate a trench abo
inches wide and three feet deep
some convenient outlet. lay Ain