Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1915-07-07
KEEP ROADS DRY.
If You Wish Them to Remain Hard,
Smooth and Free From Mud.

Water, plus clay or ordinary
earth, when mixed, invariably forms
mud. On ordinary earth roads the
rains and melting snow furnish the
water ard the passing traffic the
mixing, and the result is muddy
roads. Take away the water or
prevent it from mixing with the clay
or earth on the road surface and
little or no mud will result. In 9th
er words, keep your road dry if You
wish it to remain hard, smooth and
free from mud, says the American
Highway Association
Except in very sandy or arid re-
gions, good drainage is the cardin-
al principle in the maintenance of
earth and gravel roads. Get the wat
er away from the road as quickly anil
completely as possible. Water natur-
ally seeks the lowest level. You can
not keep the water from falling on
the road, but you can assist its nat
ural inclination to get away to
lower level. Keep the ruts filled and
the road crowned with a slope to-
wards the side bitches of from three
fourths to one inch to the foot, and
the water will not collect on the
road to soak in and be mixed to mud
by passing traffic. Keep the side
bitches clean and with frequent out
lets to get the water away from tho
road entirely. Do not let the cul-
verts clog up or material accumulate
in the bitches and hold back pools of
water to soak into and soften the
foundation of your road. Water is
an enemy that will run away if you
will give it chance. Do not neglect
to give it every chance. 1t will pay
and pay well.
Like most other enemies, water is
not very destructive or dangerous
until it collects in force. Therefore,
get the water away from your road
at every available opportunity and
before it has time to collect in suf-
hcient volume to be dangerous to
the road, and do not invite certain
disaster by making your culverts too
small to care for the largest posi-
bic storm. Furthermore, build the
n 10 he TO- xxyi1
necessity, flow through them and
not find a way around or beneath
them. Properly designed substan-
tial wing and end walls are the for
LITIGATION which protect the culvert
from attack and destruction during
severe storms. Do not build dry
weather culverts; build them with
q view of caring for and protecting
the road during the worst possible
storms.
Make your road dry, build it hard
and compact with crown sufficient
to shed water rapidly to the side dit
ches, and with ample culverts and
drains. To keep your road dry main
tain the drainage in good condition
Drag your roads after each rain;
dragging fills in the ruts, smooths
the surface, and maintains the
crown. On a road which has been
properly dragged the rain finds no
place to collect and soak into and
soften the surface. Unless the rain
is of long duration the surface is
softened but very little. AS soon
as the rain has ceased and the road
surface dried so that the clay is not
sticky, but while it is still plastic,
drag the road again. Any depreS-
sion or ruts which have been form
ed during and after the rain are
thus filled, and the surface smooth
ed up and plastered over with thin
plaster of clay or earth which packs
and becomes very hard under passing
traffic. Therefore, in order to make
and keep your road dry, first pro-
vide for good drainage and then main
tain the good drainage by systematic
dragging after each rain. Diligent
attention. to these points will, in
general, insure an earth road fairly
passable at all times and very good
most of the time.