Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 April 1916 — EARTH ROADS IN SPRING [ARTICLE]

EARTH ROADS IN SPRING

Drains and Side Ditches Should Be Kept Open —Road Drag Most Useful at This Season. The cardinal essential in spring maintenance of earth roads, especially those on heavy soils,-is good drainage. g 0 long as the water can be kept from penetrating deeply into these roads they will remain at least fairly passable. To accomplish this on average earth roads, however, is far from easy. During the early part of this season of the year rains are often of long duration and tend to saturate the soil. Water from melting snows is perhaps even more penetrating than long-contin-ued rains, while alternate freezing and thawing of the wet surface tends to increase the, porosity of the soil and permit even more ready access of water into the foundation. The chief attention of the road man must therefore be directed to-j ward getting and keeping the water away from the road. Ho long as the foundation can he kept dry, even a heavy freeze followed by a rapid ! thaw will do little or no real damage * to the road surface. A dry soil does not heave. The foundatipn will,, therefore, still be solid, and the road t will be able to sustain the traffic without serious rutting. On the other hand, a saturated soil expands greatly on freezing, and when it thaws out has not only lost ipraetically all power of sustaining the weight of traffic, hut also is in an , ideal condition for taking up or ab- ! sorbing still more water, and thus forming still more mud. The spring maintenance of earth roads requires, therefore, first, preventive measures, which must he taken the pervious fall or summer, so that the road will go into winter properly graded,, well compacted, and with good provisions for drainage; and, second, t i mely, con tin non s, systema- ’ tic and intelligent attention through- ; out the winter and spring. It is true that the only sensible and really economical thing to do with earth roads on which the traffic has reached a certain volume is to hard surface them. But the larger' part of our earth rtjads must remain such for a long time to come. These roads, however, need not become impassable mud lane** every winter or spring. A certain amount of timely and intelligent attention during the late winter and early spring will yield results commensurate with the cost. We must also learn that it requires as great, if not greater. ; skill and experience to maintain an [earth road properly as to maintain any of the high-class pavements. The fundamental principles of earth road maintenance are few and not difficult, hut to carry out these principles under the almost infinite variations of conditions with which the road man finds himself confronted j requires a high degree of intelligence. skill and experience. Not until we realize these facts and put them into practical application will we have the earth roads which it is possible for us to have. During the early part of the season. as long as the weather is very rainy or there is melting snow on the ground, it will pay to have the road man go over the road daily to see that the drains and side ditches do not become clogged and to note the need of any necessary repairs. A few minutes work with a shovel may prevent a serious washout or damage which, if not properly checked, might make the road practically impassable. The road drag or some other similar device finds its greatest usefulness during this season. It may he used to good advantage to clear the i pad wav of slush and melting snow and so prevent this water from soaking into and softening the subgrade. To till ruts, smooth the surface and maintain the crown of the road, the drag is unexcelled when in the hands of a skilled operator. An unskilled man may do more.harm than good.’ Furthermore, the actual condition of the road during this period will depend very largely on the knowledge of the road man as to just when to drag, as well as his skill in the operation of the implement. tn addition to the maintenance, provision should be made for doing ail necessary grading or earth work! as early in the spring as possible in' order that, it may become thoroughly consolidated before the dry weather of summer. If the work is done - too late, the road will not only probably become very dusty in dry weatherj but. will rveed additional attention later in the fall. Where the soil is a heavy clay or gumbo the condition of the road may be very materially i improved by adding sand from time to timfi as that already on the road is worked in hv the passing traffic and the drag. Only rarely do our earth roads, even when neglected,' become equally bad over their entire length. Most frequently the really bad places are confined to comparatively short sections, while the remainder of the road is fairly passable, An examina-

Don of the worst will usually show that the drainage, either surface or, underground, is seriously at fault.; The' trouble can be remedied by pro- i vi-ding the necessary drainage, and in nearly every case could have been prevented by a comparatively small amount of timely and properly directed' attention. The lesson is obvious. Systematically organized and properly directed maintenance throughout all seasons is our only, guaranty of fairly passable earth roads during the spring of the year. : Weekly News Letter U. S. Dept. \ of Agriculture. t