The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-07-21
HOW TO MAKE AND
KEEP THE ROADS SMOOTH

HNJW ~
KEEP THE ROADS SMOOTH
The subject again being gooa
roads. and how to make and KEEP
+hen smooth, we reproduce at length
a letter Just issued by the American
Highway Association on this subject
Il is so full of good sense tnaS We
believe it will be appreciated oy INC
nnblic. 1t is as follows: -,
"The traffic on earth and, gra'ei
,.oods has a constant tendency 10
develop ruts, chuck holes, and de-
nress;ons. The chief aim and pur-
nose of road maintenance is to pre-
vent and remedy this destructive
action. To be successful and eth-
cient. road maintenance must be
systematic and continuous. hap
hazard work is expensive and unsat-
isfactory.
If the road is very rough and un-
even or the crown very low the ROAD
machine or grader is very .ef1ciene
for placing it in shape. One must
guard, however, against, the all TOO
common. practice Of 'er-Pins a 'oo
and other. vegetable matter and 70;
fuse from tbs. sides. and bitches on
To- the road. In general, on the
clay and heavy soil roads all vege.
table or .pongy material should be
carefully excluded. Such materials
absorb moisture readily and furnish
but little resistance against wear.
The road surface should be built up
with the best material possibfe-ma-
terial which will pack and CONSOLE
date under traffic and which will be
as nearly. waterproof as possible and
will wear uniformly. 'h:a,
In general the road machine or
grader should be used in the Spring
of the year while the ground is
moist and in such condition that it
will work easily and at the same time
pack we'll under passing traffic. Con-
siderable skill and judgment is re-
quired to. use the road grader to
the best advantage. An unskilled
and careless operator will sometimes
actually leave the road in a worse
condition than when ne began work.
Do not scrape sod and refuse. into
the road. Good earth is far better
as it will not decay o absorb mois-
ture 20 readily. Do not BIO guilty
Of the too common practice Of leav-
ing u windrow Of clods or loose
earth along the middle of your road
road to impede traffic and absorb
water at the first rain. Leave the
roads smooth over the entire sur
face and traffic will spread and be
less likely to produce ruts. Always
use the grader in such a way as to
make the road better and not worse
for the passing traffic.
When the road has been placed in
good condition as to crown and
s~moothness the road drag is the best
tool for maintaining it in that con-
dition. Drag the road after each
rain while the surface is still moist
but not sticky. Use a light drag
and move only a very little earth
just sufficient to fill the ruts and de-
pressions and leave a slight surplus
if the crown is low. Ride on the
drag and shift your position accord
ing to the amount of earth neces-
sary to be moved. If the rain has
been of long duration it may be adj
visable to drag the road twice; first
very soon after the rain and again
when the clay is drying out or begin
ming to set.
Do not drag a dry road. Sue
cessful dragging is dependent on a
certain amount of water or moisture
in the road surface. Practically all
clays and most soils, if not too san
dy, will puddle if worked when wet,
and on drying out will set very hard.
The drag in connection with traffic
is essentially a pudding machine,
which, when properly used, leaves
the road surface crowned and cover
ed with a smooth layer of puddled
densely packed soil. This layer is as
nearly impervious to water as it is
possible to make it. Following rains
find little or no place for 1odpement