Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1917-09-07
EXPERT DISCUSSES
ROAD SITUATION
statement Relating to the Con.
.,ruction of the LaCroSse-Dusty
Road Permanent Highway
No. 12)


hv the secretary of the Tax Payers
,osgue of an inspection trip, by the
road committee of that organization,
wish to make a statement Of my
avn opinion of the class of work be-
mo done on this road and the final
rssuIts that will be obtained. This
statement is made with the hope that
Il will help to clean up any wrong
IMPRESSIONS that may have been
formed. The following remarks are
based on an inspection trip over the
road with the road committee of the
Tax Payers league, trip some two
weeks later with the county engin-
Ger. and a study of the specifications
for 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 well 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 14-foot
gravel surface, the depth of gravel to
range from u 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 16 Il cubic cubic yards per
100 feet for each layer and that it
1.-THE graYeD shall be traffic bound "
The specifications also state that the
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-
tional 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 the road commit
lee OF the Tax Payers league, several
miles of the first course of gravel
mao been spread and only a few hun
dred feet of the second course. At
THIS time / had not seer the specifi-
cations for tho road and was under
Inc impression that this first course
was the finished road This was in
deplorable condition for finished
road' owing to the heavy hauling
mat mad passed over 1t. The con-
tractor is using large auto trucks to
maui the gravel, that weigh 10 tons
OF more when loaded These trucks
hao formed bad ruts in this first
course of gravel and there were sew
7rai places that were so cut up and
coVered with dust that it was diff
euit 10 tell, from an auto whether
any gravel had been deposited or
ho'' A sample of the material taken
'ioh one of the worst of these places
SHOWS the following seiye analysis:
pirt 4S per cont sand AZ per cent,
mineral matter passing one-quarter
'ncn screen), gravel Is per cent
mineral matter retained in one
suarter screen and passing a two
'ncn screen). When the party ar
rived at the gravel pit near Lacrosse
anu saw that the gravel deposit was
covered over with an 1S-inch layer
earth some of the committee con-
GUIDED that this earth had been
nauied out on to the road with the
s'aVei' thus causing the extremely
uusty places.
mere are three ways to account
the large percentage of dust
.O'hu IN spots in this first course Of
iaFei: (a) Tho soil being extremely
snt and dry. it could have been
O"h on from the fields. OBJ It
'uiu nave been hauled to the road
I'm the gravel pit (cJ 1t could
80. peen formed by the action of
heaVy auto traffic pounding
Nv, o"n the gravel into the light soil Of
az suograde. An estimate made Of
actual amount Of earth that has
stripped from the gravel pit and
ose inspection Of the road leads
He TO believe that by far the largest
ps'eehtage of the earth found in the
800. eS mentioned is due TO the latter