Since in Utah the rainfall is very small, compared with that in the Eastern states and in the states of the Mississippi valley, the road problem is a much simpler one here than there.
Drainage.
If not actually the most important, certainly the drainage of a road is one of the most important factors to be considered in the construction or in the maintenance of that road.
A system of underdrainage is a necessity, where the surface water comes near the top of the ground on which a road is to be built, and drain tile laid longitudinally on boards to a carefully and properly made grade will carry such water away. Fortunately however, for the builders of roads in Utah there are comparatively few such places where roads need to be maintained in this state. Drain tile, however, laid in soft material, without the use of a board or plank to keep the ends of the individual pieces of pipe in line, is practically valueless.
Standard Cross-Sections.
It is a small amount of precipitation or rainfall only that the road builder here must take care of. Very wisely the last legislature passed a law establishing standard cross-sections for the roads in this state. Figures [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6] show in a clearer way what these cross-sections are, than these can be shown in the law by the use of words only.
The elevation of the crown of the road above the fence line varies from four inches to eighteen inches, the amount depending on the width of the street, and the depth of the drain ditches on the sides of the roadway is as shown some two feet below the grade of the fence line.
The roadways and sidewalks as the figures giving the cross-sections show, all have such slopes, that water falling upon these surfaces will flow quickly into the drain ditches.
Two Rod Lane