Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1917-09-07
EXPERT DISCUSSES
ROAD SITUATION
O,a,ement Relating to the Con-
..ac,::an of the LaCrosse-Dusty
Road Permanent Highway
No. 12)

nv the secretary OF inc lax Fayefs
..gue of an inspection trip, by the
.osd committee of that organization,
: wish to make statement of my
avn opinion of the class of work be-
~ done on this road and he final
rosults that will be obtained. This
statement is made with the hope that
q will help to clean up any wrong
mnressions that may have been
sormed. The following remarks are
based on an inspection trip over the
mad with the road committee of the
Tax Payers league, trip some two
weeks later with the county engin-
ser and study of the specifications
Tor the construction of the road.
The Improvement of this highway
was begun by first making a re-
location of the road and letting a
separate contract for the grading
This part of the work seems to me
10 be exceptionally we'll done. The
sides of the cuts and fills have been
given the proper slope, the drainage
structures are we'll built and prop
erly placed, the alignm ent of the road
Is good with no sharp curves, and the
location has been placed with an eye
to providing good drainage and the
balancing of the grading qualities
Since the contract for the grading
has been completed there has been
practically no rain; not enough to
aid in the consolidation of the road
surface, which, for the most part, is
composed of light soil containing
very little mineral matter. The light
soil, when dry, easily grinds to dust
under very moderate traffic.
The second step in the improve
ment Of this road resulted in the let
ting of contract to place a 14-foot
gravel surface, the depth of gravel to
range from 8 12 inches in the center
to three inches at the edge. The
Specifications for the work require
that the gravel shall be placed in two
layers of 161a cubic cubic yards per
100 feet for each layer and that it
1.-THE grayeD shall be traffic bound. q"
al 81, Il
spreading of the first course Of
gravel shall begin at Lacrosse, near
the gravel pit but that the spread
ing of the second course shall be op-
tlonal with the contractor. For the
east four or five miles of the road
crushed rock is being substituted for
gravel.
At the time l made my first trip
over the road, with tho road commit
lee OF the Tax Payers league, several
miles OF the first course of gravel
mad been spread and only a few hun
ufed feet of the second course At
THIS time had not seer the specifi-
calions for the road and was under
'he impression that this first course
was the finished road. This was in
deplorable condition for a finished
ioau' owing to the heavy hauling
mat had passed over it. The con
tractor is using large auto trucks TO
maui the gravel, that weigh 10 tons
u more, when loaded These trucks
"au formed bad ruts in this first
course of gravel and there were sew
0'ai places that were so cut up and
eo'ered with dust that it was diff
.si' 10 tell, from an auto, whether
any gravel had been deposited or
nut A sample of the material taken
nun one of the worst of these places
sn0"s the following seive ANALYSIS:
Dnt rs per cent, sand AZ per cent,
mineral matter passing one-quarter
4'n screen), gravel IS per cent
mineral matter retained in one
suarler screen and passing a two
u Screen). When the party ar
.'eu at the gravel pit near Lacrosse
aAu saw that the gravel deposit was
s.'ered over with an 1S-inch layer
!, earth some of the committee con
eu That this earth had been
1ieu out on to the road with the
a'eh thus causing the extremely
uusty places.
mere are three ways to account
~. al The large percentage of dust
1Hu IN spots in this first course Of
, y,asel; (a) Tho soil being extremely
-, u' and dry. it could have been
60, On from the fields. (b) 1t
-. nave been hauled TO the road
~" the gravel pit. (c). 1t could
~ e Oeen formed by the action Of
A.. heaVy auto traffic pounding
- avn the gravel into the light soil of
a. suDgrade. An estimate made Of
h ae actual amount of earth that has
" stripped from the gravel pit and
M use inspection of the road leads
no.a - oeiieyo that by far the largest
pI.as 'ase OF the earth found in the