Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-06-05
prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture

menp OF AgTlCOiture.1
Well-balanced and experienced juGg-
ment regarding the relative Importance
of the various details involved is
much more valuable asset in undertak-
ing to locate a road than mere techni-
cal skill in handling surveying instru-
ments. No knowledge gained from
books alone can give that complete
grasp of the relations existing between
public road and the community it
serves which is so necessary If the
location and design of the road are to
secure the greatest possible good from
the money expended.
In locating or relocating a public
road the prime considerations should
be, first, the comfort and convenience
OF the travelling public which it is in
tended to accommodate. and, second,
the economy of public funds. The first
consideration fixes the general location
OF the road and limits such details of
design and layout as affect the safety
and comfort of travellers. The second
should control the detailed working
DNt " a. AONolAOAi ~ ouiL tilC tVpOSAdPAiJ
or surface layout of the region through
which the road passes, with due re-
gard for such features of the design
as affect the cost of construction, of
maintenance and of hauling over the
completed road.
The comfort and convenience of
travellers, requires, first, that the road
pass conveniently close TO the dwell
ing places of those for whose plrticu-
lar use it is built; second, that 1t be
free from dangerous curves and grades
and sufficiently wide for safe travel
and, third. that the surface be such as
to remain reasonably firm and smooth
and to become neither very dusty nor
very muddy under any combination of
weather and traffic conditions. The
extent to which any particular road
must meet these requirements depends.
of course, on the state of public senti-
ment in the community which pays for
the road. But in most communities it
is safe to assume that the standards OF
excellence as regards the accommoda-
ton demanded of public roads will be
raised rather than lowered. Due fore
sight. therefore, should be exercised in
working out the location and design
of road, so that later improvements,
such as reducing grades, increasing the
width of the Travelled way, or con-
structing better surface, can be made
without the necessity of making expen-
sive changes in the location or other
wise wasting any considerable part of
the work already accomplished.
Location of Roads.
A few general rules regarding the To-
cation and design of public roads may
be stated briefly as follows:
/. Avoid sharp curves in the road,
because such curves are a menace to
traffic. On light grades and level
stretches the location should be prefer
ably such that a traveller may see at
least TWO or three hundred feet ahead
from any point on the road and on
sleeper grades this distance should be
increased if automobile traffic is to be
reasonably safe. Where the view is
cAiOOSIA uNlCN anu NAlC SAel0S 10 DIdCll-
cally level, country roads of ordinary
width may be curved to a radius of
only about two hundred feet without
seriously mountaineering traffic, but
to safeguard against accidents the ra-
dius of curves located on grades should
or 400 feet, even If the view is per-
fectly open.
2. Provide ample width for vehicles
to pass each other without leaving the
travelled way.
3. Bear in mind that if road ever
becomes of any considerable impor-
lance. its users probably will demand
that all the sleeper grades be reduced
to the lowest maximum that would
conform to the general topography of
the region which the road traverses.
4. Avoid all unnecessary distance.
Aside from the advantages to traffic
of a short route, each mile of addi-
tional road involves a considerable
extra yearly expense for maintenance,
and this consideration alone may war
rant considerable expense in shorten
Ing the route when the road is con-
structed, provided that the decrease in
distance does not materially increase
the steepness of the grades.
5 Regard land lines only in so far
as this may be done without decreas-
ing the usefulness of the road or in
creasing its ultimate cost. The ten
dency in most rural communities is to
locate all new roads along land lines,
regardless of the suitability of the
route, and this has been responsible
for much waste in the past. Not in
frequently roads located along land
lines have been graded at considerable
expense, and abandoned later when the
community demanded a more highly
improved road with better grades.
6. Give reasonable consideration to
the pleasing features of the location.
A large part of the travel on most
country roads is for pleasure, and the
degree of pleasure experienced in driv-
ing is largely dependent upon the
scenic attractiveness of the road.
Laying Out Road.
The actual procedure of laying out
a road should be controlled very large
ly by the lay of the land which the
road is to traverse. Where the coun.
try is comparatively level, for ex-
ample, practically the whole problem,
aside from proper drainage, may be to
determine a reasonable balance be-
tween the desire to avoid unnecessary
damage to farming land and the pur-
pose to secure a reasonably direct
route over good ground.
One Of the most common problems In
laying out road in level country is to
decide between continuing a circuitous
route around cultivated fields or along
rectangular land lines, and establish
ing a new diagonal route across the
fields.
In mountainous regions, on the other