Drain Ditches.
The slope of the drain ditches should be the same as the slope of the road and their cross-sections should be practically the same at all points, so that all the water flowing into them will flow promptly to a nearby cross drain that will carry it entirely away from the road.
Seven Rod Street
Fig. 5
In many cases unsightly, uneven holes are dug on either side of the roadway in order to secure material for making the crown of the road and the water, which gathers in these, keeps the foundation under the road always soft.
Eight Rod Street
Fig. 6
Cross-drains should be provided at all “low places.” Culverts should be constructed under the roadway at these points to carry the water from the upper to the lower side of the road.
If storm water is carried quickly well away from a road, the condition of that road for traveling will be greatly improved. But rain and other storms do not generally put roads into their worst condition. This comes in the spring time, when the frost “comes out of the ground.” Observation shows, however, that not much frost gets into dry ground, so that if a road is properly maintained during the fall, and the fall and winter storm water is promptly drained well away from the road, frost can do the road very little damage. It cannot loosen up the earth, rendering it soft and mushy, as it does earth that is filled with moisture. To make good earth roads in the spring, therefore, requires good drainage and careful maintenance during the fall and winter.
The average country road in Utah can be constructed with its center raised six inches for from $40.00 to $50.00 per mile. To raise the crown of the road six inches more above the sides will cost about the same amount.