The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1915-07-02
How To Make and Keep the
Road Dry.

when mixed, invariably forms mud.
On ordinary earth roads the rains and
melting snow furnish the water and the
passing traffic the mixing, and the re-
suit 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
other words, keep your road dry if you
wish it to remain hard, smooth and free
from mud
Except in very sandy or arid regions,
good drainage is the cardinal principle
in the maintenance of each and gravel
roads. Get the water away from the
road as quickly and completely as
possible. Water naturally seeks the
lowest level. You can not keep the
water from falling on the road, but
you can assist its natural inclination to
get away to lower level. Keep the
ruts filled and the road crowned with a
slope towards 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 outlets to get
the water away from the road entirely.
Do not let the culyerts clog up or
material accumulate in the bitches and
hold back pooles 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 we'll
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 sufficient volume to
be dangerous to the road, and do not
invite certain disaster by making your
culverts to small too care for the largest
possible storm. Furthermore, build the
culverts so that the water will, Of
necessity, flow through them and not
find way around or beneath them.
Properly designed substantial wing and
end walls are the fortifcation which
protect the culvert from attack and
destruction during severe storms. Do
not build dry weather culverts; build
them with 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 bitches. and
with ample culverts and drains. To
keep your road dry maintain the drain
age in good condition. Drag your
roads after each rain; dragging fills in
the ruts, smooths the surface and main
tains the crown. On 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
still plastic, drag the road again. Any
depression or ruts which have been
formed during and after the rain are
thus filled, and the surface smoothed
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 provide
for good drainage and then maintain
the good drainage by systematic drag
ging after each rain. DiIigent atten-
tion to these points will. in general. in
sure an earth road fairly passable at
all times and very good most of the
the time.