Earth Roads. 453 



way and the mad u'ivrii the form and width desired by a 

 road machine such as represented in Fig. 215, or by other 

 means. 



The road itself should have a width of 1C or 18 feet bor- 

 dered on either side by a strip of grass three feet wide, out- 

 side of which should be the surface drains, where needed, 

 five feet wide at the top, two feet at the bottom and 24 

 inches deep, making a total width of 32 or 34 feet as rep- 

 resented in Fig. 214. 



Ifl&igSSffiPtitfB*, 



FIG. 214. Showing cross-section of an earth road 18 feet wide ; bordered on each 

 side with 3 feet of grass, outside of which are placed the surface drains 

 when needed. The center of the road is three inches higher than the sides 

 at the grass. 



The center of the road-bed should be thoroughly rolled 

 with as heavy a roller as practicable in order to compact it 

 and to discover in it any soft places. If soft places are 

 found these should be filled and brought to the proper 

 level. If the soft place is due to a different kind of ma- 

 terial this should be removed and replaced by other and 

 better. 



The center of the finished road should be two to six 

 inches higher than the margins at the grass border, vary- 

 ing with the width of the track, in order to give quick, com- 

 plete surface drainage, and this should be built up in thin 

 successive layers of as uniform material as possible. If 

 earth is brought in from the sides and ditches great care 

 should be exercised in distributing it evenly, and thor- 

 oughly harrowing it ahead of the roller, so as to secure the 

 necessary uniformity of texture. Ttyis is of the utmost im- 

 portance in order to prevent the formation of ruts. Thor- 

 ough rolling should follow the addition of each layer of ma- 

 terial and should be kept up until a hard, even surface has 

 been secured. 

 29 



