New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1915-12-01
WINTER CARE OF ROADS
Keep bitches and Drains Open and
Use Road Drag to Prevent Injury
by Freezing Weather.

Water, not cold, is the cause Of the
deterioration of roads in winter, accord
ing to the road specialists of the depart
ment. Cold weather does not in itself
injure roads, no macter whether they
are earth, gravel, or macadam. In
fact, an earth road will stand more traffic
when it is solidly frozen than at any
other time. Excess water, however, is
always detrimental to highway. When
cold weather turns this water into ice, the
damage that it does is greatly increased.
Ice occupies considerably more space
than the water from which it is formed,
and every person who has lived in cold
climate is familiar with the powerful
bursting effect of water when LETT to
freeze in confined vessel. The same
action takes place when a wet road
freezes to any considerable depth. 1t
simply bursts, or, as we generally term IL
in road parlance, the road heaves. Later,
when the frost leaves, the road is dlslnte-
grated and ruts badly. If this process
is repeated number OF times during the
winter, gravel or macadam road may
be practically destroyed, while an earth
road may become entirely lmpassaDle.
A dry road will not heave. Rock,
gravel, sand, and even clay when per-
fectly dry, contract slightly on freezing.
In order to expand on freezing, these
materials must contain or be mixed with
water, and the more water they contain
the greater the expansion which takes
place. But so long as the road remains
frozen the damage does not become
apparent. Hence the frequent and erro-
neous idea that it is the thaw which
lnjures the road. The injury was done
when the water in the road froze and the
particles of the 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 merely allows the ice
to melt and assume it's original volume as
water. A
The remedy is self-evident. Keep the
water out of the road. The time to
begin preventive measures is early in
the fall, before the rains begin. If the
road goes into the winter thoroughly
dry, with the surface and drainage in
good condition, the chances are extreme
~ favorable that it will come out all
right the following spring.
Keep the bitches and drains open.
Remove all accumulations of weeds,
grass, etc., which tend to retain moisture
and obstruct drainage. Furthermore,
do this work early, while the ground is still
dry and hard. Vegetation and litter
hold water like a sponge and allow it
gradually to soak in and soften the earth.
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 winter rains and SHOWS.
When the fall rains begin the earth or
gravel road should be dragged frequent
~ to prevent the formation of ruts and
the collection of water. All graveled
places on macadam surfaces should be
carefully filled in and consolidated.
During the winter, whenever thaw
is coming on, the cross drains and side
bitches should be opened up as far as
possible so as to prevent water collecting
along the roadway. If the thaw is so
pronounced that the roadway is softened,
the drag should be used; sometimes one
round trip of the drag, with the hitch
reversed, will entirely rid the earth road
of slush and melting snow and leave
the road surface practically dry. Don't
get the idea that the drag is not needed
on your earth and gravel roads in the
winter time. Instead, keep it where
you can get at it steadily, for if the winter
is an ordinary one you will need it many
times.
Winter destruction begins in the early
fall. The best way to prevent such de-
.struction is to forestall it. Keep the
road dry and remember that so long as
it remains so it will not be seriously
injured by frost. Keep the drains open,
the bitches clear, remove all vegetation
and litter, and use the drag frequently.
If the road is kept dry to a depth of 2
feet below the surface there will be little
trouble from the coolest winter.