The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1913-07-21
The Construction Of
Good Earth Roads
Some Practical Notes on the Building and Maintenance of
Common Earth Roads, Using Material
Already There


City Engineer Chamberlain o.
Montevideo. Mimi, says: In a con-
stantIy growing number of communi-
ties, public opinion is calling in a
loud voice for better highways. Local
history throughout the country
records that, as soon as the ad-
vantages Of the modern highway con-
structed through Pleasant valley are
recognized, the farmers Of Stony Ridge
and Sanl Prairie are anxious to in
vest in a similar Improvement. Its
contagious. Hence, the subject of
good roads is a. popular one.
Evidently believing that the best is
none too good, most writer's are now
recommending concrete for the. mod
ern highway But from what is
practical to that which is desirable IS
a far cry. Nearly all rural highways
are earth roads. And earth roads
they must, from necessity, remain for
many, many years. therefore the
vital problem before the majority of
the rural progressiyes is how to i'm
prove and how to maintain earth
roads. They must first be improved;
they must then be maintained.
.aa Improving Earth Roads.
Improvement may be taken to. in
clude such practical construction fea-
lures as adequate drainage (the most
important of alD, the intelligent use
Of the material at hand s(the' next
most important feature) the elimina-
tioE of steep grades, the widening of
narrow turnpikes, and reducing the
side slopes of cuts to partically pre-
vent the accumulation of snow.
Good drainage demands: First, a.
crown, or side slope of the road sur
face varying from a few inches on
sand road to a foot or more on clay
or gumbo roads. Wide roads need g.
greater crown than narrow roads and
steep grades more than level ones.
Second, bitches with a continuous fall,
in all cuts, through wet lands and es-
pecially along the upper side of side
hill roads. Where springy ground
cannot be avoided, drain tile should be
laid directly under the road, unless, as
on a side hill, the ground water can,
perhaps, be diverted along the road
side. Third, culverts must be amply
large and placed so that the food wa
ter can readily flow from as Well as
to them. Culverts should usually be
protected at the lower end by deep
concrete walls to prevent undermine
ing.
The intelligent use of the material
at hand--a subject much and wisely
advocated by state Engineer Cooley Of
Minnesota seldom given sufficient
If more substantial
material can be secured at a. reason
able cost, soil containing vegetable
matter, decayed or otherwise. should
not be placed in road fills, and under
no consideration should 1t be used at
or near the surface.
Instead of being dumped In piles
and simply leveled off when the fill
has reached the required elevation.
each load Of material should be spread
out in a horizontal layer. The base
of q fill should be made full width at
the start In case an engineer is not
employed to stake out the work, bear
in mind that the bottom width of a fill
should be equal to the width at the.
top plus three times the height, and
even somewhat wider If the material
Is largely fine, dry sand. And in this
connection remember that an EN-
bankment, after standing a year or
SO, Sis appro1imat tely two feet narrow
er on top than when first constructed,
and about nine -tenths its original
height. Therefore, allowances should
be made for this washing away OF
the shoulders and the shrinkage in
height.
The best wearing material should
be- selected with care and used on
The road surface. Gravel hauled two
Or three miles and spread to b depth
of, say six inches and perhaps only
eight feet wide along the centre OF
The road is usually labor well expend-