The Art of Keeping Kennewick’s Roads Smooth

According to C. H. Kendall, the U.S. highway engineer who visited Kennewick last week, dissatisfaction with many types of road construction is not due to any fault of the type but the neglect of the road after it has been built. One common mistake is to build a road and then expect it to stand up under traffic without care. Mr. Kendall is a strong advocate of the frequent use of the road drag. To maintain a gravel road, attention must be given to dragging, patching, and resurfacing. Gravel roads, when newly made, almost immediately begin to rut under traffic. This can be improved by adding a thin covering of sandy gravel, kept smooth by frequent use of the drag. The dragging should begin after the first good rain following completion and be continued until the surface becomes so hard that heavily loaded wagons can make no impression. This work is usually neglected, or done in such a way as to cause two ruts to form where there was one before. The simplest and most economical way to maintain an earth road is by the frequent use of a road drag. The object is perfect drainage and a smooth, hard surface. After a rain, the drag moves a small quantity of moist earth toward the center to form a crown; when compressed and dried, this becomes exceedingly hard and impervious.