HOW TO BUILD SIMPLE ROADS: Plain And Simple Days

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THE SIMPLICITY OF ROAD BUILDING IN THE OLD DAYS:

By Wilgeens Rosenberg

Building a road involved simple technology and heavy labor, yes. However, the most important tool necessary is the will, determination and perseverance in effort of people coming together by working in collaboration toward a common goal which for Governments this gets by far a lot easier given their more provided means and resources within the Country.

Building roads is a lot easier than many people may think depending on the kind of road in mind, but the basic concept for road building is always as simple as 1, 2, 3. The first task is to clear the area and establish a directional mapping.

This would usually be the most difficult which the challenges are often: Stumps, boulders, brush and trees had to be cleared.

Usually, this could be done entirely by hand or with the help of horses; however nowadays, tractors and other machineries would serve best effective in regard to time and labor.

It was not until the construction of Canals and paved roads that ingenious native workmen invented stump-puller; using this device, seven men and a team of horses would pull forty stumps in a day. Considering the density of forest through which many roads ran, even this was slow progress indeed.

Once debris was cleared, leveling began.

This was the distinguishing mark of an improved road, separating it from paths for foot travel or animal migration.

Using hand-held rakes, hoes or sometimes horse-drawn scrapers, farmers and rural laborers supervised by township officials created a surface amenable to wagon and stage travel.

The land also had to be surveyed by a professional to determine the most efficient route between two points.

Distance, direction, and elevation all had to be measured.

Distance, up through the early nineteenth century, was measured with an iron chain 66 feet long known as Gunter's Chain.

Eighty chains equaled one mile; ten square chains equaled an acre. To calculate distance, Gunter's Chain was simply stretched between two points as many times as necessary.

Direction was measured with a magnetic compass or a vernier, an instrument that measured horizontal angles; it allowed a surveyor to determine how much a sight line diverged from magnetic north- south.

Most elevation measurement was done with a simple level, a flat device containing an glass cylinder of water with a small air bubble.

Elevation changes were determined by attaching the level to a sight, placing a vertical measuring rod some distance away, and then reading through the sight the relative height of the second location.

Changes in elevation were extremely important in roadbuilding; in the interest of efficient travel, it was followed that a wagon pulled by horses could only traverse a grade of five degrees (a vertical rise of 462 feet per mile).

Cleared, flattened and graded, a road could be finished at this point.

However, builders found that these sorts of roads eroded quickly.

Drainage ditches were added to stay the erosion process and avoid wheel ruts, but a permanent road badly needed a top cover of stone.

In 1799, an anonymous roadbuilder published "Directions for Making Roads" in the Philadelphia Magazine and Review.

Here is his advice on laying stone:

"The stones should be spread equally over the surface, and settled with a light sledge [hammer]; in this operation, such stones as are too large, must either be broken or carried away; over this a layer of small stones, not larger than eggs, should be scattered, and settled with hammers between the interstices of the largest.

Over this a small quantity of any hard clay, just sufficient to cover the stones, should be spread; if mixed with gravel it will be better...In a month or two [of traffic], the clay and gravel will be worn away, and the corners of the large stones will appear--men should now be employed to break the stone with hammers, weighing about two pounds and an half...After another months or six weeks, the road must be broken, with care, in the same manner; and, with proper intervals, it should be broken from time to time, as often as may be necessary-- four times is, in general, sufficient."

Often the responsibility for building a road was passed from the state and federal government to private turnpike companies.

Hence, the "turnpike" or toll road: once a company had bid for and built a road, it owned the rights of passage on it

Sample Turnpike Fees:

Thus, toll roads were common throughout early days. The name turnpike refers to a large log ("pike") that crossed the roadway at a tollhouse.

When the toll was properly paid, the pike would be lifted, or if mounted centrally, turned, to allow the passage of traffic.

Wilgeens Rosenberg, March 25 2008, 8:57 PM

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