Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-04-07
OILED ROADS.

Editor Times Republican,: SO many
are talking good roads OF different
kinds, but more about gravel roads. !
wonder If 1t would be out Of place to
! talk about oiled roads. 1t seems to me
| that il as much publicity he given OIL
| ing OF roads ana what oil will do for
the common dirt road especially IN
| counties where gravel can not be pro-
cured, that more people could be won
over to the side of good roads thereby
having forward the good road program.
! Do not think that I am against the
! gravel surfaced roads. No, not I, but
/ fear that to go to the expense OF what
some estimate 1t to take So, 900 mile,
that to do that and nothing more
would be loss of good money, l be-
| lieve that this soil here in many coun-
ties of Iowa is better adapted to Oil
and / will state my reasons.
First-Even il you surface your
! roads with gravel you will have mud,
ruts and dust, the finer the gravel Is
ground by traffic the more the auto
traffic will whirl the dust away only to
leave the rut which will become good
place for water to run and wash, espe-
cially where there is a grade. II this
same road could be oiled you would
eliminate all the wear and thereby OBJ
tain hard surface.
Second-If it's possible to try out
some piece of road by grading il up as
Il should be. not as high in the center
as some do and then put No. oil
on II and by that do not mean to see
how little oil can be used on a sixteen
foot width OF road but oil the entire
surface from outside OF ditch 10 out
SIDE OF ditch whatever the distance is
t. require a good road, some sixteen
feet others thirty or more. also the
culVert entrances so no dirt wash
would accumulate at entrance. rms
could be done for somewhere from $3.50
to $500 per mile. Then II you wished TO
make IL read good job put one-ha!f
inch of fine gravel over entire traffic
surface which would allow for immedi-
ate traffic and yearly spread of oil
and gravel for FIVE years would insure
fully believe a road that they all
would sit up and take notice OF.
do not consider myself 8 road
builder but am like others who have
seen roads oiled, especially in our town
Of Gladbrook and the streets we oiled
and grave!ed stood every hard use OF
heavy traffic in rainy weather with
no ruts or mud when mud was hub
deep TWO DOCKS away l ISS IAAe u.s.
If oil Talk it. Those wishing all
grave! let them have il. Start some
thing and thru Your splendid paper
some one Will see the hight and the
people will demand 10 know more
af,ou, ole, roads J. l. B!gelow.
Gladbrook. Iowa.
THE oiled road is an Improvement
over dirt road because il will shed
the light rains Of the summer season
but II will not withstand the wet
wealth and frost changes Of spring
and fall At the county engineers
school held at Ames last winter one
of the state engineers from the Illinois
highway commission and the state en-
gineer from Kansas appeared = dis
cuss the oiled road from actual expert
ence in their states. They warned al
engineers not 10 expect an oiled ROAD
70 stand up n winter. late fall or early
spring but they said it was good
summer road. They said that IL would
cost 81 SEQ per mile TO build II in Iowa
as they build IL in their states ana
advised the use OF gravel in preference
:, fereye- grave, cc;:ii be obtained. OIL
ing dirt roads is temporary improve
men, Jus step above dragging. We
must have a hard surface to carry
traffic all the year around and in or
der 10 get II we mus, spread the hrst