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Repair and Maintenance of Highways
Title
Repair and Maintenance of Highways
Date
1913
Relation
Office of Public Roads. Bulletin Number 48
Excerpt
MAINTENANCE OF EARTH ROADS
To preserve a properly built or repaired earth road, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the best method is some system of continuous maintenance. Continuous maintenance prevents the necessity of extensive repairs and keeps the road always in good condition. The operations involved in maintenance are in one sense small repairs. The economy in small repairs over extensive periodic repairs is largely due to the fact that defects in a road develop at an increasing rate if allowed to continue, and the cost of restoring the road to the normal condition is consequently made greater than the actual sum of the costs of repeated minute repairs. The advantage to the traveling public in continuous maintenance is self-evident.
THE ROAD DRAG
The split-log drag, or some of its modifications, has proved beyond doubt the best tool for earth-road maintenance. It is sometimes called the road hone. This drag may be made with either two split halves of logs, from 6 to 8 feet long and 6 to 8 inches thick, shod with iron, or with planks from 3 to 4 inches thick shod with iron, or some- times by splitting a railroad tie with a saw. It is drawn by two horses and is designed to run at an angle to the axis of the road. The object of the drag is to move a small quantity of earth and also to puddle the surface. The two half logs are set parallel, about 3 feet apart, with the smooth sides facing forward, as shown in figure 11.
They may be connected with any desired system of braces, about 6 inches from the ground, but the drag should be rigid, and that is best secured by having two diagonal braces. The iron shoe has been successfully made from old wagon tires. In stony soils the iron shoe should extend the entire length of the blade. The position of the hitch ring governs the angle at which the drag cuts the road. The angle should be about 45°. There should be a plank for the driver, who should ride the drag. Some operators attach handles similar to plow handles, weight the drag with stone, and walk behind it to direct the movement with the handles. The construction of the plank drag is sufficiently clear from figure 12. Another form of road drag is made from two 8 or 9 foot pieces of railroad rail, and this is very effective.
The necessary features of the road drag are lightness, rigidity, and durable edges. The cost of a split-log drag should not exceed $5 when built by a carpenter. An oak plank drag is slightly more expensive.
The road drag is designed to reduce ruts by paring action and to smooth and harden the surface of a traveled way, and it does both. The action of the drag involves the movement of a small quantity of earth combined with a puddling action. It is not intended to grade a road as a road grader does. When the drag cuts too deeply, the hitch may be shortened. When it slides excessively with a long hitch, weight may be added temporarily to insure some cutting. The best time to use the drag is after a rain, as the surface of a road is then soft enough to be cut easily and is in the best condition to puddle. By its capacity to move small amounts of earth toward the center, the road drag maintains the correct crown, which always tends to flatten. By its capacity to puddle the surface, the drag builds up successive thin layers of material, which gradually become waterproof and harden while drying. Dragging should begin at the outside of the road and progress toward the center. The road drag is not a cure-all for bad roads, although almost any road is helped by dragging. To secure the best results the road should be in good repair as to section and drainage, and the drag should be used often, especially in the first season. An old road, full of cobbles used to fill "chuck" holes, cannot respond to dragging. The drag should be used always when the road is wet but not so sticky that mud clings to the blades. This is often the case in the black soils of the Middle West, and a smoothing drag or slicker is used successfully in such conditions. 2 Dragging a dry road is of no benefit. The road drag consequently is peculiarly adapted to a system of continuous road maintenance, and the annual cost is low.
To preserve a properly built or repaired earth road, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the best method is some system of continuous maintenance. Continuous maintenance prevents the necessity of extensive repairs and keeps the road always in good condition. The operations involved in maintenance are in one sense small repairs. The economy in small repairs over extensive periodic repairs is largely due to the fact that defects in a road develop at an increasing rate if allowed to continue, and the cost of restoring the road to the normal condition is consequently made greater than the actual sum of the costs of repeated minute repairs. The advantage to the traveling public in continuous maintenance is self-evident.
THE ROAD DRAG
The split-log drag, or some of its modifications, has proved beyond doubt the best tool for earth-road maintenance. It is sometimes called the road hone. This drag may be made with either two split halves of logs, from 6 to 8 feet long and 6 to 8 inches thick, shod with iron, or with planks from 3 to 4 inches thick shod with iron, or some- times by splitting a railroad tie with a saw. It is drawn by two horses and is designed to run at an angle to the axis of the road. The object of the drag is to move a small quantity of earth and also to puddle the surface. The two half logs are set parallel, about 3 feet apart, with the smooth sides facing forward, as shown in figure 11.
They may be connected with any desired system of braces, about 6 inches from the ground, but the drag should be rigid, and that is best secured by having two diagonal braces. The iron shoe has been successfully made from old wagon tires. In stony soils the iron shoe should extend the entire length of the blade. The position of the hitch ring governs the angle at which the drag cuts the road. The angle should be about 45°. There should be a plank for the driver, who should ride the drag. Some operators attach handles similar to plow handles, weight the drag with stone, and walk behind it to direct the movement with the handles. The construction of the plank drag is sufficiently clear from figure 12. Another form of road drag is made from two 8 or 9 foot pieces of railroad rail, and this is very effective.
The necessary features of the road drag are lightness, rigidity, and durable edges. The cost of a split-log drag should not exceed $5 when built by a carpenter. An oak plank drag is slightly more expensive.
The road drag is designed to reduce ruts by paring action and to smooth and harden the surface of a traveled way, and it does both. The action of the drag involves the movement of a small quantity of earth combined with a puddling action. It is not intended to grade a road as a road grader does. When the drag cuts too deeply, the hitch may be shortened. When it slides excessively with a long hitch, weight may be added temporarily to insure some cutting. The best time to use the drag is after a rain, as the surface of a road is then soft enough to be cut easily and is in the best condition to puddle. By its capacity to move small amounts of earth toward the center, the road drag maintains the correct crown, which always tends to flatten. By its capacity to puddle the surface, the drag builds up successive thin layers of material, which gradually become waterproof and harden while drying. Dragging should begin at the outside of the road and progress toward the center. The road drag is not a cure-all for bad roads, although almost any road is helped by dragging. To secure the best results the road should be in good repair as to section and drainage, and the drag should be used often, especially in the first season. An old road, full of cobbles used to fill "chuck" holes, cannot respond to dragging. The drag should be used always when the road is wet but not so sticky that mud clings to the blades. This is often the case in the black soils of the Middle West, and a smoothing drag or slicker is used successfully in such conditions. 2 Dragging a dry road is of no benefit. The road drag consequently is peculiarly adapted to a system of continuous road maintenance, and the annual cost is low.
Publisher
U.S. Department of Agriculture
File(s)
Repair and Maintenance of Highways Cover.jpg
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Repair and Maintenance of Highways TOC.jpg
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Good Road Crown Maintained by Dragging.jpg
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Repair and Maintenance of Highways Letter.jpg
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The Road Drag 1.jpg
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The Road Drag 2.jpg
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The Road Drag 3.jpg
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The Road Drag 4.jpg
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The Road Drag 5.jpg
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