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“ WE WANT c001) ROADS.” By A. W. Campbell, C. E... Road Commissioner of Ontario. The Great Need of This Country is Good Roadsui'iow to Build Them Economically Explained by an Expert-“Useful l‘iints Builders of this Country. BROKEN STONE. There are localities in Canada where 3°04 gravel is-not obtainable. but Where stone can be had, either as bed rock or as field boulders. Some town- ihips have used stone broken by hand. but a stone crusher. with a screen at- tachment affords a much cheaper method. The stone should be separated into guides according to size, the coarser stone to be placed in bottom of the road. and the finer at the top. This grading of the stone is done by means 0f the screen attachment. If the stones are placed in the road without being graded in this manner, the small- er stones wear more rapidly than the la-I‘EGI‘ and a rough surface results. Ila-1‘86 stones at the surface, moreover. are more apt to become loose, to roll under the horses' feet or the wheels. For a country road there should be Plaoed in the roadbed. lst, a layer of stones such as will pass through a. 21-2 inch ring; 2nd. On this a layer of stpnes such as will pass through a one inch “118; 3rd. on this a coating of screen- ingsâ€"that is, the dust and chips creat- ed in crushing. Care must. be taken in choosing the stone to be used. Some limestones make good metal; but limestone of a slaty nature, or limestones which de- cay rapidly on exposure to the air should be rejected. Sandstones are brittle and do not unite well in the road. Granites, which are found in many parts of Canada. make good road metal. Trap rock is the best obtain- able. Gneiss is very frequently a 00d rock The latter with other ardstones. are frequently found as boulders scattered over the southern Parts of Canada. In using field bould- are, care must be taken to reject such stones as are evidently softened by ex- posure. Rocks which crumble readily under successive blows of a hammer; or which show iron stains when brok- en, should be discarded. A little-ex- perience will quickly teach a judicious roadman to detect boulder stone which is unfit for road purposes. There must be sufficient body of broken stone to consolidate into a com- pact layer. A sprinkling of stones over the surface is useless. It merely impedes travel on what might other- wise be a. good dirt road. Six inches of broken stone is the least which should be used in making a.durable roadway for any purpose; and it should be the aim of councils to thicken this coivering as circumstances will per- m. t. PLACING THE ROAD METAL. To know how grave]. or stone snould be placed on the road. it is necessary to have a knowledge of why it is plac- ed on the road. This is a matter to which very few of our roadmakers have iven slightest attention. and very ew could give an intelligent answer to the question. The popular idea is that the stone makes a sort of carpet for a while; in a short time it Will be forced down into the soil to form a bottom; on this more gravel or stone will have to be placed; and that_this process will have to be continued inde- finitely until a good read is made. There is even a very general belief that it is not necessary to drain a road; but that the only means of ac- complishing the desired end is to pile on gravel year after year; and that water, unless it actually floods over the top of the road. has little to do with the matter; and that so long as the actual surface of the road does not t wet it does not matter how boggy t may be underneath. and Diagrams to the Road forming a. shallow trench. In this the gravel should be placed, spread with a rounded surface and the loose dirt at the sides levelled off to conform to the shape of the roadway. Old gravel roads are commonly flat. in ridges. with square shoulders at the edge of the ditches. In this case. the better plan is to cut off these shoulders throwing the loosened earth outward. The ditches are usually very wide and flat, the road having been graded by drawing the earth out of the ditches with a scraper; so that these shou1~ ders thus turned outward merely wid- en the graded roadway without inter- fering with the drain. If, however, lthese ditches are sharp and deep. the loosean earth may drop down so as to obstruct the water in which case it will have to be thrown across the drain to the roadside by handâ€"a pro- ceeding seldom necessary. Usually a sufficient depth of grav- el will be found upon these roads. reâ€" quiring only that the centre should be raised by cutting off the sides. After this is done as above described. a light coating of clean gravel to fill the ruts and depressions and restore the crown will frequently make an excellent road. CONSOLIDATING THE MATERIAL. The road covering should be solid and compact in order to shed the wet- .er. Under present methods. the grav- iel or stone is dumped in the centre of i the road and left as it fails, a mound of E loose material, avoided by the users of the road until late in the fall when the muddy and rutted state of the side of the road compels them to drive along this mound. Gradually it is flattened down and, after a year or so, during which time it has been mixed largely with the soil beneath, it assumes the shape of a road. The utility of roads made in this way is largely vasted. must be made for traf c, not y l . This loose stuff absorbs the rain as it falls even before it is cut into ridges by wheels and the feet of horses. \Vhen it has been cut into ridges it acts as a receptacle to hold all the moisture its surface will receive. In this way the whole surface and foundation of the road is softened. is readily cut up and destroyed. The best remedy for .this waste in roadmaking. is to spread the road met- al to conform to the required surface of the finished road, and then thorâ€"- goughly consolidate it by the use of a iheavy roller. It can be largely rams died also by taking proper care of the Iroad, if a roller cannot be had. By I raking the loose material into the ruts f and wheel tracks as fast as they appear. nearly the same end will be accomplish- ed but less perfectly, and requiring a. . longer time. The first vehicle passing = over the road does comparatively little I injury; it is when ruts have been form- Ied which hold water, and other wheels ~Cross-section. In the intelligent construction of a follow in these tracks, that the great- road. the intention of the gravel_ori stone coating is to form a wearing surface and protect the soil under- neath. Of course. gravel and broken stone cannot as a matter of fact, be entirely impervious; but so far as the coating of these materials does pre- vent the water passing through to the sub-soil. it fulfills the greatest por- tion of its mission. To accomplish this to the greatest possible extent there are several points which it is necessary to pay attention to. 1st. the road must be crowned or rounded up in the centre; fled. the mu.â€" teriiil must be as compact and as solid as possible; 3rd, the surface of the road must be smooth. CRO\VNING. By having the road crowned or rounded up in the centre. water is at once thrown to the sides where it can boo-.irried away in the drains. if the road is flat on the top. or if hollow, as many roads of Canada are. water stands on the road. soaks down through the road covering. and softens the soil beneath. Then the trouble begins. There is nothing to support the gmvel. so that when a loaded vehi- cle passes over it. the wheels are forced down through the gravel and inlo the soil. The soil is plowed up. mixed with the gravel and the serviceability of the road is largely destroyed. The means of providing a proper crown must depend on circumstances. For an average country road on which a grading machine is used the best method will be to first round up the natural soil giving it n 1953 crown Linn it is intended the finished road shall have. This completed. pass the grader over one side of the centre. cutting off the to and turning the iooeened dirt to the side; then pass the grader back along the other side. turning the loosened dirt to the side. This will leave a flat surface. in the centre of the roadway. along each side d which is a shoulder of loose earth. est damage is done. A SMOOTH SURFACE. ' It is evident that a smooth surface {is essential to a good road. A rough isurface is necessarily such. as will imâ€" pede the flow of water. Ruts run- ning lengthways with the road form trenches to cut off the flow of water lfrom the centre to the drains. To fsuch roads rain is always an injury. : With roads properly built, on the con- 'trary. a. good dash of rain will flush savvay the dust which has accumulated; l and which if it remains on the road in ; time of steady rain and slush. acts as ; a sponge to absorb moisture and soften ' the surface of the road. KEEP THE ROAD DRY. i Keep the roads dry, and with very lit- tle attention they will remain good roads. A little moisture dovs com- : paraiively little injury. Against some ~ moisture it is impossible to guard. But with proper precautions. the excess moisture can be removed before great j damage is done. The means to be tak- en with regard to the actual surface {of the road have already been com- iuicnted upon. a § THE OPEN DRAIN. , The open dmins at the sides of the ' road should lhold. water in be sufficiently deep to? neath traffic. times of freshets. andf utmost importance that the soil should 1 bed dry. cannot be too thoroughly im-l pressed. Clay in thick beds. when dry, will support from 4 to 6 tons per square foot, of surface. according to the quality of the clay. If onlymodei» ately dry it will support only from. 2 to 4 tons per square foot of surface. If the clay is wet and soft it will yield to almost any load. Gravel, if well compacted. forms a much stronger roadbed, is less yield- ing to the action of moisture and for this reason. even tor a thin surface coating. strengthens the road some- what. But the real strength of the road must lie in the subsoil. Vegetable moulds and alluvial soils are weak, hay- ing asustaining power of only one- half to one ton per square foot; and for this reason it is well to remove such sails, securing. if possible, a gravel. clay or sand foundation. UNDERDRAIN LNG. In order to keep the roadbed dry. and secure a strong foundation. it is fre- queptly advisable to use tile under- drains. Owing to the weakening effect of water on clay, also to the retentive nature of clay, that soil is usually mo“ in need of underdrainage. In gravel and sand, water is not ordinarily so dev structive unless when acted upon by frost; at the same time. these latter soils usually provide better natural underdrainage. as they are more por- ous. and artificial means of underdrain- age are usually less necessary. Underdrainage may be had by means of common field tile. It is usually best to place two such drains. one on each side of the roadway underneath the open drains. One tile drain placed} underneath the can tre of the.roadbed is sometimes used. The extra cost of two drains is largely reduced, however. by the lesser cost of excavation. since. on the majority of road allowances. deep open drains now exist. and the soil is softer and more cheaply handled than that in the hardened centre of the road. It is very unwise to excavate and soft- en the hardened centre of the road when it can be avoided, as settlement 15 v.31? 810W. At the same time. two drums are more effective, carrying “Way Water more rapidly and thor- oughly; they intercept the soakage wa- ter from the adjoining land before it Passes under the roadbed. Any thoughtful farmer who knows the effect of underdraining in his fields Will at once recognize its usefulness in road-making. In the fall. water will be rapidly removed from the bed of the road and the destructive action of frost lessened. In the spring. the frost will come out of the ground more quickly. and each of thOSB periods in fall and Sprlng are shortened, when, with the foundation and surface thoroughly 53"" urated. the roads are not only impass- able on account of the mud. but are mJured by traffic more than in all the remaining nine or ten months of the Year. One year’s statute labor with the annual appropriation, spent in DTO‘ taken to see that the covering is kept in place. it is not. sufficient to build culverts; it is further necessary that the culverts be kept in order. it is folly to build roads properly if they are sfterwnrds_neglected and allowed to remain out of repair. Every farmer knows that if the repairs of his barns. his outhouses. and his fences were neg- lected as is the repair of the roads. 3 great personal loss would result. Probably one or the greatest defects of the present system of road construcâ€" tion is that the roads are not repaired when the need of repair first arises. Unless in a very dangerous state. work is done on the roads only once a year at the time of performing statute lab- or; ruts. hollows and other defects are permitted to remain without attention and when these defects commence. they increase with great rapidity. Culverts are permitted to fall to pieces for want of repair at the proper time. Drains become obstructed, and the roadway is allowed to be flooded and saturated for want of a little timely attention. Repairs are made once a year and that at a season when least required. having a tendency to destroy the useâ€" fulness of the road at the only time when our roads can be called service- able. When the weather is dry for sev~ eral months in summer the ordinary clay mad baked by the sun. ii kept in Proper shape, is an excellent roadway : but our novel systemâ€"as if to checkâ€" mate Providenceâ€"provides otherwise. As soon as such roads dry upl showing Signs of being fairly serviceable. it is the duty of each pathmaster to turn out. say in the month of June.. and t0 the extent of his ability, with thel Sm- tute labor at his dispbsul, plow up. the sides of the road in the most irregular manner possible and then with drag Scrapers bring the earth towards the centre of the road and there dump it so that each scraper full will stand out separately and alone. making the road surface as rough and impassable as possible. Wherever such earth is brought from the side of the grade it appears to be unwritten law that it shall be done by gouging with the scraper so as to leave depressions and Dockets. which will hold water. Where a road has been gravelled. but in the Spring becomes rutted, with an occa- sional depression, offering an exouse for repairs, it appears to be that policy of_ our roadmakers to fill up the ruts With the coarsest gravel obtainable. \Vherever there is aslight depression they dump a load of gravel large en- ough to form a mound. Should these repairs force the traffic to the sides of the road. the work is considered com- plete. except that it may be thought a further necessity to lay rails, logs. stumps, etc., crosswise on the sides of the roadway. obliging the travel to fol- low the centre or take another road. It is absolutely essential to the main- tenance of a good and economical sys- tem of roads that provision be made by A GOOD ROAD COVERING.â€"Crossâ€"section. ’ he largest stones in the bottom and sand and clay; and thoroughly rolled. viding proper drains for the roads of the province would do more than can be done in five years with: the present method of merely filling the holes which appear, with gravel or crushed stone. _ Underdrainihg and grading should be carried on simultaneously. Unless drained, the traffic during the ensuing autumn and spring will usually leave a graded road as shapeless and rough as a pioneer wagon track can be. If drained. there will be a foundation for the gravel or crushed stone to rest: on when applied. . A porous soil. like a sponge. retains in its texture. by attraction, at certain amount of water. When water in ex- 9685 of this is added, it sinks to the first impenetrable strata. and from there it rises higher and higher until it finds a lateral outlet; just as wa- ter poured into a pail will rise high- er and higher, until it finds an outlet in the side of the pail. or until it flows over the top. Underdruining supplies the necessary outlet for this excess moisture at a proper depth from the surface; it ” lowers the water line." \Vith plastic clays the process is slightly different. Clay will absorb nearly one~half its bulk and weight of water. in drying, it shrinks and is torn in different directions. The fis- sures thus commenced by a tile drain become new drains to lead water to the tile. and so the process of contracting and cracking continues until a net work of fissures is produced. and the stiffest clay is thereby drained. THE EFFECT 013‘ FROST. The injury done to roads by frost is ' caused entirely by the presence of wa- ; for. Water expands on freezing. and: the more there is under a. road. and‘ above frost line, the greater is the in- 3 jury. In freezing. water expands. The I particles of soil in immediate contact with the water are first compacted. When room for expansion ceases within : the body of the soil‘itself, the surface l is upheaved. -\Vhen thawing takes place the subâ€"soil will be found honey- combed. ready to settle and sink be. If is therefore of the the smallest at the surface, free from the township for their repair as soon as signs of wear appear. However ex- travagant it may appear at first sight. to recommend that a man be constant- ly employed to go over such a mileage of roads as he can attend to, devoting his whole time to the work, there can be no doubt that it would in the and be the most economical plan. it is the same system pursued by railways in the care of their roadbed, and railway corporations are noted for their. econ- omical methods. A man constantly employed in this way could fill up ruts and wheel tracks as soon as they appear, before water has been permitted to stand in them to assist in deepening them. A decayâ€" ed plank would be removed from the culvert or bridge before an accident was caused thereby; and before the weakening of the bridge at this point had caused other portions to be de- stroyed. An obstructed drain would be opened before injury resulted to the roadway. Loose stones would be re- moved from the road where they are rolling under the wheels and the feet of horses. Loose gravel and stone would be kept raked into place until it had become consolidated. By these and many other simple means the roads would be at all times kept in a more serviceable condition; and of greater importance, repairs would be made in time to save the road from injury which could not be remedied; und in time to save much labor and expense in making possible repairs. Some municipalities have adopted the couple of laborers to devote their whole time to the roads of a district or town- ship, and in such cases, a grader and other road machinery is employed. Whatever the details of the system, the principle should be the same through- out. that wear must be repaired as soon as signs of it appear. if economy and good service is to be had. ROAD GRADERS. A road grader is one of the most ne- cessary implements for a township to possess. To depend upon manual lab- Eshould have a sufficient full to carry-the relieved of the water of saturation :or for the first grading of roads, and it quickly away. uniform. not a series of rises and falls. knoll: and holes. l l Most important of all. in view of ten axle deep with mud. is to be at- age. The impassable condition of most roads in Canada during the spring. of- the neglect which it receives. the out- tributed very largely to a wet sub-soil .let must be ample. and always free .from obstruction. lt_ useless to dig I a drain without providing an outlet for the water. a thing very commonly done. The water merely stands in the , trench. soaks into and softens the road- 9 bed. Unless a drain carries the water {away it is useless. i I-‘Ol.’ .\‘ DATION. i The importance of keeping the road- which has been honey-combed by frost. MAINTENANCE. it is not merely necessary to make the roads good; they must be kept good. It is not sufficient to provide drains; care must be exercised to keep the drains open and free from obstructions. it is not enough to merely place the gravel or broken stone on the road as it ought to be placed: care must be Th" fa” 51’0"“ ball” qnickly 115 0035mm “5' underdmln’.the repair of others that require re- shaping is a useless waste of labor and money. Improved road machinery is as great a saving in roedmaking as is the self hinder or the steam thresher in farming operations. To neglect to usearcadgrsder isasunwiseesit would be to return to the old time cradle and flail. took the same personal interest in the roads that he does in his farm. no muniâ€" cipalities would be without modern "1'1.- chinery for road work. The grader in the hands of a skilful Operulur will do the work of fifty to seventy-five If every ratepriyer; m... _.-__..___..__‘_..s. .... .- .._......_._-... - _. linen in grading and levelllnr ' ‘wnr- .,.. A ROAD lioness. A most valuable implement in road construction is the'road roller. On lawn streets it is indispensable. To thoroughly consolidate the gravel or stone into a smooth. bani layer. before it can be mixed up with the subâ€"soil. renders the surface costing more out- able and serviceable in every way. A‘ steam roller of ten tons is to) expen- sive for the majority of rural muni- cipalities. but in some instances town- ships oould rent from a town in the district. which owns one. A horse roll- er of six or eight tons is less expensxvc and some municipalities may see fit to purchase. In the construction of broken stone roads the loose stone con- solidates under traffic less readily than does gravel. and without rolling re- mains for some time very icese and rough. A STONE CRUSHER. Wherever good gravel cannot be had. where stone for crushing is obtainable, a stone crusher is most useful. Stone can be broken by this means at a price within the range of every well-pepu- lated township, although a very expen- sive work when performed by hand. A crusher can be operated by the steam engine used for a threshing machine which can generally be rented. X crusher will prepare from 10 to 15 cords per day. A rotary screen attached to the crusher will separate the stone into grades according to size, madlyr to be placed on the mud in layers. the court- er in the bottom of the road. \VAGON TIRLS" . It would seem as though in every- thing the present methods in regard to roads in Canada are contrary to good judgment. Gravel or broken stone is dumped loosely without even spread- ing. on a badly graded. badly drained sub-soil. In the use of these roads the same recklessness is glaringly appar- ent. When wide tires have universally replaced the narrow tires which are now found on farm wagons. a great part of the road question will be; solv- ed. Narrow tires of two and one-half inches in width have only one half of the bearing on the road which would. be provided by tires of proper width. By referring to the supporting powcn of soils discussed in the paragraph on “Foundations,” the effect of this is more apparent. By the use of a six inch tire, the roadway will support, without yielding. twice the load which it could support with a three inch tlre. Narrow tires cannot be too strongly condeanned. They cut and grind the road. plow and upheuve it. Wide tires on the contrary, are a benefit rather than an injury to the road inasmuch as they act as rollers to preâ€" serve a smooth. hard surface. in some localities wide tires are olbjccted to un- der the argument that they increase the draft required to move the load. 'Ilhis may occur under certain occas- ional conditions of very wet and soft roads. But when wide tires are unl- versally used this objection will dis- appear, as the increased draft is due E9 the nuts and mud caused by narrow ires. [DIMENSION S OF ROADS. For the manage country road, a graded roadway 'tWenty-four foot in width between the inside edges of the open d'rains, will be ample to accommo- date travel. For the average road. if the central eight feet is metallod with gravel our broken stone. it will be suf- ficient. The depth and width of the open drains will have to be governed by circumstances, Suiil"ionl (-a-~:u-il.y must be provided to carry away all suu‘face water. The deptih must be dependent also on the fall obtainable. With tile unde-rdrains, dcep open dixtcihcs arc molt needed to drain film noad foundation. The use of tile does away wiJUh the deep and dangerous open diitl'lhcs which may otherwise be necessary. The crown of the road should be such as to ghvu a full of one ina-ih to Ulla foot from centre to the edge of the ditch. Ell LI .8. Hills are among filing difficult portions of the road to construct. and are a constant source of (achnse for repairs. The reason of this usually is. that the drainage is imperfect. Water is brought long distant-cs in open drains by the mudsidc, and poured over like hills. frequently to flood over the whole surface. It is not uncmiunon to find llho centre of tube maxi over the hill lower than the open d'mlm at its sideâ€"4 iii there are drains at all. The unlural iresult is “but wasluouts are constantly occurring. For conditions of this kind the simple remedy is to dispose of the 'thie!‘ before it reaches the bill. by com- ,vcying it uhnrmigh the adjoining fields iii necessary. The prolubility is mqu gtho greater amount of water has been ,curried in deep ditches past water- icourse lifter watercourse in order to 1dispose of it over the hill; thereby .a'voiding the necessity of C(nll‘illl'lll'linfl‘ .plan of employing a. foreman and a. {drains Ubrowglh farm land in the natur- ‘al watercourses. "lbe secret of success- ful drui-n'ige willh respect in roads. ll iio dispose of motor in small quantities lbefore it can gain force and headway. I Another common occurro-ucc is to find water oozing from Ch». surface of the jroad on hills. This is eujmcially no- lticeable after the frost leaves these lspols. 'lmn autism: is soft Mill spongy {and is cut readily by Wheels. ouch jhills slmuld be drained by placing a ' line of tile down each side of the road‘ ‘way between one gutter and the gray- .'el carrying these underdrains to proper outlets. C-I'UBS drains should be laid in )tlhe wet spot loading to the side under- ,drainh' in a diagonal course. \Vf‘li l‘nn‘ caved "bl hers should be made on each ‘side u bin: roadway and at regular intervals catch basins should be placed to arrest the flow of wu'ter in these utters leading it into my: tile under- nine. The roadway on a hill should be well lavished. This will draw the writer quickly in flu: drains :n the side of the road. ill-Head of mrxuitling it to follow lhe wheel trucks. deepening them to ‘ rule. 1 i To Be Continued. ‘ y a . y.‘