Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1914-03-03
CONSTRUCTION OF EARTH
ROADS.


make poor roads, especially II they
contain much vegetable matter. The
coarser soils, however, which contain
some sand or gravel, will often make
very satisfactory roads for light traffic
provided they are kept in proper re-
pair.
If the road is composed of fine clay
or soil, 1t will sometimes pay to re.
surface 1t with top soil from an ad.
jacent field which has sand or gravel
mixed with 1t. This method, called
the top-soil method. is now in success.
full use in Virginia. North Carolina and
Georgia and probably other States.
The earth road can best be crowned
and ditched with road machine, and
not with picks and shovels. scoops and
plows. One road machine. with suit.
able power and operator, will do the
work Of many men with picks and
shovels. and do 1t better.
The road machine should be used
when the soil is damp. so as to make
the soil bake when 1t dries out. II 1t
is worked dry, it takes more power
to draw the machine. and. besides, dry
earth and dust retain moisture and
quickly ruts after rains. The use OF
clods, sods. weeds or vegetable matter
in building earth roads should be
avoided because they also retain
moisture.
1t is a great mistake to put the
working Of the earth off until August
or September. The surface is then
baked dry and hard 1t is not only
difficult to work but is unsatisfactory
work when done. Earth which is
loose and dry will remain dusty as
long as the dry weather lasts and then
turn to mud as soon as the rains be.
gin. BY using the road machine in
the spring of the year, while the soil
is soft and damp, the surface is more
easily shaped and soon packs down
into a dry hard crust, which is less
liable to become dusty in summer or
muddy in winter.
Storm water should be disposed OF
quickly before it has time to penetrate
deeply into the surface This can be
done by giving the road crown or
slope from the center to the sides.
For an earth road which is twenty.
four feet wide the center should not
be less than six inches nor more than
twelves inches higher than the outer
edges of the shoulders. A narrow road
which is too high in the middle will
one which is too fiat, for the reason
that on the narrow road all the traffic
is forced to use only narrow strip.
Shoulders are often formed on both
sides of the road which prevent storm
water from flowing into the side
bitches, retaining it in the ruts and
softening the roadway. These ruts
and shoulders can be entirely elimi-
mated with the road machine or split
log drag.
Ordinarily, the only bitches needed
are those made with tharoad machine,
which are wide and shallow. Deep.
narrow bitches wash rapidly, especial
ly on steep slopes, which is another
good reason for decreasing the steep
ness of the grades. 1t is difficult TO
maintain an earth road, or any other
kind of road for that matter, on a
steep grade.
The width of the earth road will de-
pend on the traffic. AS a rule, twenty
five or thirty feet from ditch to ditch
is sufficient, if the road is properly
crowned. A road that is narrower
than twenty-five feet is difficult to
maintain for the above stated reason
that on narrow roads the teams are
more apt to track than on a wider
road, causing it to rut if subjected to
heavy hauling.
The road should not be loosened,
dug or plowed up any more than is
absolutely necessary. The road should
be gradually raised not lowered; hard
ened not softened.
On fiat lands, where water moves
slowly, grading material should be
taken from the lower ditch and cul-
verts supplied where waterways occur.
A shallow ditch on the upper side
makes it possible to give culverts
good fall. Two or more small pipes,
instead of one large one of equal ca
pacity, may be used for culverts. espe-
cially If the large pipe necessitates
much grading or raising of the road
way. At least six inches should be
left between each pipe and earth
should be tamped around them thor
oughly so as to prevent washout.
To prevent washing on steep roads,
the water should be carried under the
surface at frequent intervals from the
upper to the lower side, and from the
lower side away from the road. Five
twelve inch pipes in mile of roadway
is as about as cheap and far better
than one twenty-four inch pipe. The