Middletown transcript., 1915-10-30
RURAL ROAD WORK
The Department is Offering Good
Advise on This Subject

Inc Department is Offering Coco
Advise on This Subject
DRAINAGE A GREAT FACTOR
That full value may be received for
the money appropriated for road pur-
poses and that the best results obtain
able may be secured it is essential that
the right man shall be placed in charge
OF road work. He should be selected
not only because he actually knows
more about good roads than any other
person in the community, but also be-
cause he can get the best results from
the money furnished. 1t is not suffi-
clent, however, to let the matter rest
with the appointmentof aroad overseer.
tie should receive the whole. hearted
support of the community in the work.
1t should be seen to that under the con-
dltlons and with the money furnished
the cmmunity is getting what it has
right to expect in the way of road i'm
provement. 1t is well to remember
that If for any reason an incompetent
man is placed in charge of the work the
responsibility for failure rests upon the
community. There should be no other
consideration, therefore, in selecting a
road overseer than that of securing a
man with the ability to perform the du-
ties required. 1t should be realized that
good roads have much to do with the
prosperity of a community and that
united action in the right direction is
the surest and quickest way to secure
them.
DEPARTMENT WILL ASSIST
Where the road overseer has had but
little experience in road work, or where
some new and difficult problem is pre-
sented to the experienced man, the
Office of Public Roads and Rural Engi-
neering of the department, when re-
quested, will offer advice and sugges-
tions for carrying on the work and how
best to overcome the difficulties.
To secure a satisfactory road of any
type it is absolutely necessary to re-
member: First, drainage; second, drain
age; and third, drainage. The earth
road, properly cared for, will answer
satisfactorily for the traffic of many
rural sections that can not afford the
better types of roads; but the earth
road must be well drained After this
fact is well understood, two other re-
quirements may be taken up-the loca-
ton of the road and the reduction of
grades to a general average of per
cent.
With the exception of sandy roads,
which are easiest for travelling when
damp, all roads must have proper side
bitches to carry away the surface
water to the ditch, the road surface
must have crown, or rounded roof,
highest in the center and sloping toward
the side bitches. A very easy and sat
isfactory way to keep earth, clay, and
gravel roads crowned, by the use of
the split-log drag is explained in Far
mers' Bulletin 597, copies of which may
be obtained upon application to the de-
partment.
After the road had been crowned and
the crown is kept in condition by the
wise use of the road drag, it should be
seen to that bitches are kept free from
weeds etc, and that they are deep en-
ough to carry off the water which runs
into them. In most cases wide, shall
low ditch is best. Deep bitches are
dangerous to traffic. At spaces of every
few hundred feet along the roadway a
culvert of some Kind should be placed
to carry away the water which has
gathered in the bitches.
A road properly built generally will
not have an average grade of more
than per cent. By per cent of grade"
is meant the number of feet the road
rises or "climbs" for every 100 feet of
its length. On a road of l per cent
grade the horses need pull the load up
rise of only foot for every 100 feet
they travel. 1t has been found that
where a horse can pull a full load on
level ground; he is able to pull only one
half that load on a per cent grade and
only efourth that load on a 1O.per
cent grade. More trips must be made
to and from market on a road with just
one bad hill in order to haul the same
amount that can be hauled at one trip
on level road.
Bulletin 22O of the Department of
Agriculture contains pictures of small
models of good roads, some of which
might be very helpful in understanding
the construction of a road. One model
illustrates the uses of the different
kinds of bitches, culverts, etc Another
model shows the relocation of road. A
steep hill on the old road has been
avoided by relocating the road around
the foot of hill, saving the horses
many hard pull Relocating the road
may be exp nsive at first cost, but very
often repays the community many
times over in the saving of labor, time,
horses and equipment.