The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1913-01-08

/ III hduSdS, WHICH has proven very
satisfactory Dry mixing has gem
orally been unsuccessful The sand
clay road is more resilient than an
ordinary macadam road and gener-
ally costs less to construct and main
tain than any other form except an
earth road
Then various costs are given,
some of which are as follows:
Kinsley, Kans., % miles $3.50.
Maintenance $40 per mile per year.
Probable donated work unknown.
Load before building, so bushels; af-
ter 100 bushels of wheat. Automo-
bile speed often 40 miles an hour
by cyclometer
Syracuse, Kan, 4 u miles. Con-
struction cost $500. Maintenance,
$3.50 per mile per year with King
drag. Donated work unknown. Load
increased to 5000 pounds from 1000
pounds. Land 81 before; now SO to
$40 per acre.
Garden City, Kan, Construction
cost / mile $50; l mile $3.50; /
mile s176O; 1 mile $3.50; mile
$704. Maintenance $50 per mile per
year. Traffic mixed materials. Mon
ey spent in dragging. shaping up and
repairing weak spots. Loads of
60o0 pounds on inch tires. Far
mers lock wagon wheels to get down
hills.
Dodge City, Kans., miles. Con-
struction $3.50 per mile. Mainten-
ance $3.50 per mile per year with
King drag.
Bucklin, Kan, miles. Construc-
ton cost 1920 per mile. Mainten-
ance $12 per mile per year with
King drag.
A Kansas toll road built for $500
to $1,000 per mile; charges autos sc
per mile; wagons 2%c; &c for light
vehicles and &c per head for cattle.
Good traffic and road is paying.
Sand-clay roads in the South have
ranged from $500 to $1,000 per mile
and generally from $500 TO $500.
In Florida under the direction of
the Office of Public Roads one cost
1881 and another $40. Pike coun-
ty, Ala, has over 120 miles of sand
clay roads costing one-sixth as much
as maeadam roads, yet which for all
practical purposes are as useful as
the macadam roads. Quoting from
Government publication it is stated
as follows: ut has been found that
this sand-clay type of road is ad-
mirably suited to the northwestern
part of the country as well as the
southern. Its study should be of in
terest to the public schools in the
rural districts. If the sehoolboys
were encouraged to make sand
clay walk to the school house, the
teachers task of keeping clean
school building would be sufficiently
lessened to make up for the time
taken to interest the boys. For a
large part of the country the sand
clay road is the only road possible
or within the reach of the rural
districts"
What has already been accom-
plished here and what has been so
successfully accomplished elsewhere
l., o1,,,oe4 oxyarv caotion of tho conn
try leaves no doubt in my mind that
great measure of success can be
looked for in our sand-adobe roads
carefully built on the proven princi-
pies. Dragging here will probably
be desirable even in dry weather to
maintain a mulch and protect from
chuck holes and will also be requir-
ed after wind storms. But dragging
is THE thing.
1t is pointed out by the editor of
the Standard that the gravel beds at
Lahontan, Hazen and Grimes and
elsewhere offer valuable road ma
terial. 1t should be and probably
will be much cheaper than rock
quarried out of Fallon Butte. | am
inclined to think that it's best value
would be in its use in the top dress
ing of sand-clay roads and as part
of the aggregate for concrete roads
on those roads where the haul would
not be excessive. Attention might
again be drawn to the fact that drop
ping rock or gravel on the roadway
does not build anything hardly but
an abomination to traffic, and right
methods must be used with the grav-
ell as with any other material to
build up a durable, desirable road
surface. Proper binder must be in
eorporated with the gravel and ii is
entirely possible the all gravel road
might ravel more than the sand
clay type as the individual pebbles
will be more subject to displacement
than the cemented sand-clay mater
ial with light covering of dust over
both. Adequate success with the
cheapest construction available with
maintenance costs always under con-
sideration must largely govern our
decision as to the type of road we
undertake.