The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1914-10-09
importance Of Read Maintenance
And Repair.

maintenance. The general impfeS-
sioa that lheFe are certain tYpes Of
roads that are permanent is eron.
eous. No Permanent road has ever
been constructed. or ever Nil be,
according to the road specialists oi
the department. The only things
about a road thai may be consider
ed permanent are the grading, eul-
verts, and bridges. Roads construct
ed By the most skillfm highway
engineers will soon be destroyed By
the traffic, frost. rain ana Wind, un.
less they are prooerly maintained.
But the life OF these roads may be
prolonaed by systematic maInten.
ance. A poor roadWdl not only be
improved by proper maintenance,
dut may become better in time than
a good road without il.
The first and last commandment
lnearth road maintenance is to keep
the surface will drained. To insure
good drainage the bitches should be
kept open, all distractions removed,
and a smooth crown maintained.
Except for very stony soil the road
machine or seraper may be used
once or twice a year, and the work
should be done when the soil is
damp, so that it will pack and bake
Into hard crust. Wide and shall.
low side bitches should be main.
tainei with sufficient fall and capa-
city to dispose Of surfao, water.
These bitches can in most places be
constructed and repaired with a
road machine.
All vegetable matter, such as sods
and weeds, should be kept out Of
the road, as they make a spongy
surface, which .es~.r-- .---s.ssnr.
Clods are also Objectionable, for
they soon turn to dust OF mud, and
for that reason roads should never
be worked when dry or hard. Bowl
ders 0. loose stones are equally OBJ
| jectionable il a smooth surface is to
be scored. A split-log drag or some
similar device is very useful in main
tanning the surface after suitable
bitches and cross section have once
been scored. This drag can also be
used to advantage on a gravel road
as well as on an earth road. The
The principal involved in dragging
is shat clays and most heavy soils
will puddle when wet and set very
hard when dry. The little attention
that the earth road need mus b.
given promptly and at the prope
time if the test results are to be OBJ
J tanned.
In dragging roads only a smal
amount Of earth is moved, jus
/, enough to fill the ruts and depres
e sions with a thin layer Of plasti
I clay or earth which packs very har
so that the next rain insteae Of find
ing ruts, depressionS and clods !
! which to collect runs off, leaving tn
d surface but little affected.
t The drag should be light an
and should be drawn over the roa
= at ad angle of about as degrees
y The driver should ride on the drs
!. and should not drive faster than
{, walk. One round trip, each tr
. straddling a wheel track, is usual
y = sufficient to fill the ruts and smool
\ the surface. II necessary, the roa
should be dragged after every b;
y spell Of weather, when the soil is
J. proper condition to puddle well al
% still not adhere to the drag. II Z
road is very bad, it may be ,dragg
when very wet and again when
a begins to dry out. A few trips oy
N the road will give the operator
5" idea as to the best time to dFs
ae Drag at all seasons, but do not dr
,n dry road.
ly. The sloap or crown OF an eal
he road should be about l inch to
He foot. If the crown becomes
70 high, it may be reduced be dragg
81 toward the ditch instead Of from
sss If the drag cuts to much, shor
1m the hitch and change your post
raj on the drag. If is necessary
y. =. protect the face Of the drag wit
n. strip Of iron, it should be pla
Us. flush with the edge of the drag |
nes not projecting. A cutting 2
ad- should be avoided, asathe main
ley jet in dragging IS to sniearthe ds
soil into position.