14 BULLETIN 53^ U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGKICULTTJEB. 



The total cost of the road to the community was $6,221.55, which is at the 

 rate of $0,204 per square yard or $2,157.25 per mile. The principal items of 

 cost were 6,072 cubic yards of excavation, at $0,158 per cubic yard, $962.48; 

 shaping the subgrade, at $0,001 per square yard, $43.28 ; 100 feet of concrete 

 pipe, at $0,853 per foot, $85.31 ; labor for concrete pipe, $31.73 ; 8-foot by 6-foot 

 culrert, $397 ; 42-inch pipe culvert, $350 ; surfacing material in the pit, $348.75 ; 

 loosening and loading, 5,877 cubic yards of surfacing material, at $0,137 per 

 cubic yard, $803.47 ; hauling surfacing material from the pit to the road, at 

 $0,465 per cubic yard, $2,733.71; spreading the surfacing material, at $0,047 

 per cubic yard, $273.63; finishing and rolling, $81.22; trimming the shoulders 

 and ditches, $22.27 ; 12 tons of coal, at $6 per ton, $72 ; and incidental expenses, 

 $16.70. 



GRAVEL-MACADAM ROAD. 



Bent Oak, Miss. — "Work on a road extending from Bent Oak southward 

 toward the Gilmer Road was begun on October 14, 191i, and discontinued be- 

 cause of unfavorable weather conditions, on December 18, 1912. During this 

 time 3 days were lost on account of bad weather. The adjacent land is roll- 

 ing and the soil is a very stiff post-oak gumbo. For a distance of 2,185 feet 

 the road was graded 24 feet wide in cuts and 20 feet wide in fills, making an 

 area of 5,350 square yards graded, for which 900 cubic yards of material was 

 moved. The maximum grade was reduced from 7.5 to 3.6 per cent. The earth 

 was loosened with plows and picks, loaded by hand and with shovels, hauled 

 with slip and wheel scrapers and dump-board wagons, and spread with shovels 

 and slip scrapers. The average haul was 630 feet and the maximum haul 1,150 

 feet. Two kinds of material were used for surfacing — a soft limestone and a 

 clay cementing gravel. The limestone was found in ledges at a maximum 

 depth of 3 feet below the surface and an average distance of one-half mile from 

 the road. It was broken by hand into suitable sizes on the road. The gravel, 

 on the other hand, was purchased and delivered in cars at a convenient sid- 

 ing, with a haul of about 750 feet. The road for 1,955 feet was surfaced 12 

 feet wide with two methods, and the entire area surfaced was 2,607 square 

 yards. According to the first method, which was followed in surfacing 1,720 

 square yards, a foundation course of rock was spread with shovels and rakes 6 

 inches deep after compacting, and upon it a surface course of gravel was spread 

 with a road grader to a depth of 4 inches after compacting, while the second 

 method, which was used in surfacing the remaining 887 square yards, con- 

 sisted in spreading a single course of rock to a depth of 6 inches after com- 

 pacting. The crown adopted for both types of road was 1 inch to 1 foot. 

 The total volume of rock was 450 cubic yards and of gravel 260 cubic yards. 

 Cross drains were constructed as follows: At station 0+75 a 16-inch cast-iron 

 culvert 21 feet long and at station 19-|-17 a reinforced concrete culvert of 3 

 feet span, 30-inch height of opening, and 20 feet length. 



The equipment consisted of road and turn plows, 6 slip scrapers, 2 wheel 

 scrapers, 1 road grader, and 1 split-log drag. The estimated cost of the con- 

 vict labor, which was used exclusively, was $1 per day, and, while all teams 

 used on the work were loaned to the local authorities free of charge, a money 

 value of $3 per day per team was assumed for these contributions. This cor- 

 responded with local prices for teams. 



The principal items of cost, based on the above prices, were as follows : 

 Clearing and grubbing, $46.55 ; excavation and embankment, at $0.55 per cubic 

 yard, $494.36 ; shaping the subgrade, at $0,028 per square yard, $72.69 ; quarry- 

 ing rock, at $0.91 per cubic yard, $410.83 ; hauling rock, at $0.47 per cubic yard, 

 $211.14 ; placing, spreading, and " napping " rock, at $0,097 per cubic yard. 



