Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1915-12-03
Winter Care Of Roads
Keep bitches and Drains Open
and Use Road Drag to Pre-
vent Injury by Freezing
Weather

Water, not cold, is the cause of
the deterioration of roads in win
ter, according to the road special
lists of the department of agri-
culture. Cold weather does not
in itself injure roads no matter
whether they are earth, gravel.
" macadam. In fact, an earth
road will stand more traffic when
is soldly frozen than at any
,ther time. Excess water, how
yer, is always detrimental to a
highway. When cold weather
turns this water into ice, the
lamage that it does is greatly in
creased. Ice occupies consider
ably more space than the water
from which it is formed. and
every person who has lived in a
cold climate IS familiar with the
powerful bursting effect of water
when left to freeze in a confined
vessel. The same action takes
place when wet road freezes to
any considerable depth. 1t sim
ply bursts, or, as we generally
term it in road parlance, the road
heaves. Later, when the fros'
leaves, the road is disintegrated
and ruts badly. If this process is
repeated a number of times dur
ing the winter, a gravel or ma.
,adam road may be practically
destroyed, while an earth road
nay become entirely impossible.
A dry road will not heave.
Rock, gravel, sand and even clay
when perfectly dry contract
slightly on freezing. In order to
expand on freezing, these mate
rails must contain or be mixed
with water, and the more water
they contain the greater the ex-
pansion which takes place. But
SO long as the road remains fro
zen the damage does not become
apparent. Hence the frequent
and erroneous idea that it is the
thaw which Injuries the road. The
injury was done when the water
in the road froze and the particles
of road surface-broken stone,
sand, or still finer particles of
earth or clay-were pushed apart
by the expanding .power of the
freezing water. The thaw mere
ly allows the ice to melt and as
sumo its original volume as wa
ter.
The remedy is self-evident.
Keep the water out of the road.
If the road goes into the winter
thoroughly dry, with the surface
and drainage in good condition,
the chances are extremely favor
able that it will come out all right
the following spring.
The job before the road man is
to keep the hard, dry surface
formed in the summer time from
becoming softened by the fall and
rains and SHOWS. When
the fall rains begin the earth or
gravel road should be dragged
frequently to prevent the forma-
lion of ruts and the collection of
water. All raveled places on
surfaces should be care
fully filled in and consolidated.
During the winter, whenever
nav IS coming on, the cross
Trains and side bitches sh ould be
opened up as far as possible 80 as
o prevent water collecting along
he roadway. If the thaw is so
pronounced that the roadway is
'oftened, the drag should be used;
sometimes one round trip of the
irag, with the hitch reversed.
will entiie'y rid the earth of slush
md melting snow and leave the
Dad surface practically dry.
Don't get the idea that the drag
s not needed on your earth and
gravel roads in the winter time.
instead, keep it where you can
ret at it readily, for if the winter
) an ordinary one you will need
t many times. -U. S. Dept. Ag-
iculture News Letter.