Corduroy Roads

I'd learned about corduroy roads long ago in high school as part of a course in colonial technology (Thank You Mr. Holmes!). In colonial America, well travelled roads could get quite muddy after rain and especially during winter thaw in areas where the ground froze. Wagon wheels were narrow with little surface area and were prone to sinking quite deeply into the mud. One of the solutions to this issue was to "corduroy" a road. Small tree poles were laid down, across the road, side by side. The good news was that this would keep the wheels from sinking into the mud and getting stuck. The bad news was that this provided both a bone-shaking ride for wagon or carriage occupants and it could also rattle a wooden wagon or carriage to bits if one wasn't careful. A solution to this was to cover the corduroy road with gravel.

I just happen to have a few wet spots where this simple technology is going to be put to trial. I'm a bit wary as I'm going to use Balsam Fir poles for my corduroy and fir seems to decay fairly quickly out in the woods. However, from what I have heard, if I cover the poles with gravel, this corduroy road will last indefinitely. I've an educated suspicion that the fungi responsible for decay require a certain set of optimal conditions to grow, reproduce and perform the process of wood digestion. Change the balance of these conditions and you slow, perhaps even stop the process of decay.

I personally do not know if the decay process is anaerobic, aerobic or both. That is, if decay organisms (mostly fungi) require air or if the process will continue on without air. So, if I bury the logs thus removing much of the exposure to air, will there be little decay? There is also the issue of moisture. Being in a wet environment, the logs will be very wet most of the time and this may also aid to retard decay as fungi seem to favor damp conditions.

I've also read recently two books by Rob Roy (http://www.cordwoodmasonry.com) on Cordwood Masonry. He feels that, in order for decay organisms (fungi) to gain a foothold in wood, the wood needs to remain damp. If wood can breathe and dry out after getting wet, decay is not an issue. Suprising to me was that he recommends Balsam Fir as one of the species that works best in cordwood construction. Apparently it can last as long as cedar (the most preferred wood for cordwood construction) in this type of construction method and does not shrink much when it dries as compared to other wood species.

So, while my smaller diameter trees are going to corduroy some of my wet access roads, I'm now thinking of harvesting my larger Balsam Firs for a cordwood construction project. Perhaps a Cordwood Sauna is in our future.....

And as far as my corduroy road experiment goes? I guess time will tell.... I'll update here of course.