RURAL HIGHWAYS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19448, 6 November 1925, Page 8

RURAL HIGHWAYS

CABE OF CLAY SUBFACES EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA The backblocks settler becomes so used to winter routine struggles on clay roads that his complaints lose emphasis and it is not until the touring motorist ventures into the qu'agmire that rural conditions are appreciated. This year has seen the completion of an unbroken chain of surfaced road from Auckland to Wellington. Thu problem of bad rural roads has been successfully tackled in America. There arc localities where an outlay on concrete or bitumen roads is impracticable, but the local need for an allweather surface is none the less vital. Science and machinery has superseded pick and shovel work and good earth roads are being made without heavy expense. Clay soils are difficult to work when wet and excavation is not improved after a period of baking in summer. The drainage of clay roads requires careful consideration on account of the impervious nature of the soil. Loam soils are more easily worked and they can be drained with greater facility. The first step in earth road construction is the settlement of the grades. Vegetation must then be cleared. To ensure easier maintenance of an earth road, the construction must aim at smoothness, hardness, and convexity.

The road drag is a simple implement, which is extensively used in America for keeping clay surfaces in negotiable condition. The usual form of drag known in New Zealand is a framework of planks. It is drawn by a pair of horses at an angle of about 45 degrees to the direction of haulage. The driver stands on a platform. The soil is best worked with the drag when it is moist, but not sticky. Earth roads have been constructed for from 100 dollars to 250 dollars a mile. Afaintenance is estimated at from 150 dollars to 500 dollars per mile a year. If gravel is used as a dressing, the original cost is naturally higher, but maintenance is lower.