The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-05-17
Bettering the Highways

returning On Tue Opposite sue. OuicSs
the road is already in good condition II
should be dragged after every heavy
rain. when the mud is in such condi'
ton as to puddle well and still not ad
here too much to the drag. A few trips
over the road will give the operator q
clew as to the best time to drag. Drag
at all seasons of the year. but do not
drag dry road. II a road is dragged
Immediately before q cold spell the
road will freeze smooth.
Always drag little toward the cen.
ter with the aim of keeping the slope
Of the crown about an inch to the foot
If the drag cuts too much shorten the
hitch or change your position on the
drag. The best results from dragging
are obtained only by repeated applica'
tons. A good system of dragging is
that which is practiced in Kansas and
Iowa. where road authorities are au
thOriZed to let contracts to farmers for
dragging the roads abutting OH their
lands
In the maintenance of hard roads
such as gravel and macadam. different
methods must be pursued. The causes
of wear on hard roads are the weather
the wheels Of vehicles and horses
shoes. The weather acts to some ex,
tent directly Oh the materials. but to O
much greater degree indirectly. Frost
is one of the most active of the destruc
tive agencies. The expansion and con
traction caused by frost sometimes
lead to a general disintegration of the
surface. This is especially true where
clay is used as binder and where the
road surface is porous or the drainage
poor. When such road thaws out
after a hard frost the macadam viii
practically be a layer of loose stones
into which the traffic will cut. forming
ruts. Frost has but little if any effect
on dry. well kept road.
Look after the drainage very careful.
~ in the fall and be sure that the sur.
face is as nearly waterproof as pos
sible, so that the road will go into the
winter dry and not full Of water. Vic.
lent rains often wash out the binder
and sometimes the smaller stones as
well. leaving the surface both rough
and porous. The amount of material
lost from the road by this means is
often larger than the toll exacted by
traffic.
The following hints may be found
useful in the maintenance and repair
of gravel and macadam roads:
Never allow q rut or hole to remain
on the road. but fill it at once with
chips from the stone heap. When the
road is built the contractor should he
required to place at least 100 tons of
surface material and screenings at q
convenient place for each mile of road
constructed. Always use chips for
patching and for all repairs during the
summer months
Never put fresh stone on the road if
by cross picking and raking the sur
face can be kept in the proper condi-
ton and cross section. The rake is
the most useful tool used in road
maintenance. Large patches Of stone
should not be spread over the whole
width of the road at one time. The
bulk of all repairs should be made be-
fore Christmas, so that the road will
go through the winter i'm good condi-
ton.
In moderately dry weather always
pick up the old surface into ridges six
inches apart and remove all large and
projecting stones before applying new
material Never apply stones more
than one stone deep. but add a second
layer when the first is worn in if one
layer is not sufficient. Never crack
stones on the road, for if you do a
smooth surface will be out of the ques-
ton Never leave the stones in ridges.
All large stones, blocks of wood and
other Instructions used for diverting
traffic should be removed at nightfall
or the consequences may be serious
Never put stone on the road for re-
pairing purposes that will not pass
freely in every direction through two
inch ring. Smaller stones should be
used for patching. Macadam's advice
was that no stone should be placed in
macadam road which the workman
could not get in his mouth. Traprock,
granite and other hard stone should
be broken finer for repair work than
the limestones and other softer rocks.
Use screenings if possible for binding
together newly laid material. Road
sweepings. horse droppings, sods and
other rubbish when used for this pur-
pose will ruin the best road ever con-
structed. Water worn or rounded stones