Corduroy road

Corduroy road
Corduroy road
In war, corduroy roads are often used as an emergency measure where bad-quality roads have been damaged by the large numbers of vehicles or troops that have passed over them. Seen here are Germans in Yugoslavia in 1944.

A corduroy road or log road is a type of road made by placing sand-covered logs perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area.

The result is an improvement over impassable mud or dirt roads, yet rough in the best of conditions and a hazard to horses due to shifting loose logs. This type of road was constructed in Roman times. It is known to have been used as early as 4000 BC with examples found in Glastonbury, England.[1] Compare the puncheon or plank road, which uses hewn boards instead of logs, resulting in a smoother and safer surface.

Tracked excavator placing corduroy on muskeg near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta

Corduroy roads can also be built as a foundation for other surfacing. If the logs are buried in wet, acidic, anaerobic soils such as peat or muskeg they decay very slowly. A few corduroy road foundations that date back to the early 20th century still exist in the United States.[citation needed] One example is the Alaska Highway between Burwash Landing and Koidern, Yukon, which was rebuilt in 1943, less than a year after the original route was graded on thin soil and vegetation over permafrost, by using corduroy, then building gravel road on top. During the 1980s, the gravel was covered with a chip-seal. The late 1990s saw replacement of this road with modern road construction, including rerouting of the entire highway.[citation needed]

Corduroy road built for a clearcut logging operation in Victoria, Australia.
Excavation of a corduroy road from the 16th century in Oranienburg, Germany

In a slang application, corduroy road can also apply to a road in ill repair, having many potholes, ruts, or surface swellings.[citation needed] This should not be confused with a washboard road.

Contents

Historical uses

Corduroy roads were used extensively in the American Civil War in Sherman's March through the Carolinas and in WWII by German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front.[2]

In the Pacific Northwest corduroy roads built of huge logs without the sand covering were the mainstay of local logging practices and were called skid roads.[citation needed] Two of these, respectively on the outskirts of the milltowns of Seattle and Vancouver, which had become concentrations of bars and working man's slum, were the origin of the more widespread meaning of "skid road" and its derivative skid row, referring to a poor area.[citation needed]

Origin

The name "corduroy road" refers to the similar appearance of the corduroy fabric.[citation needed]

See also

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Corduroy road — Corduroy Cor du*roy (k[^o]r d[ u]*roi or k[^o]r d[ u]*roi ), n. [Prob. for F. corde du roi king s cord.] 1. A sort of cotton velveteen, having the surface raised in ridges. [1913 Webster] 2. pl. Trousers or breeches of corduroy. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • corduroy road — noun A road paved with split logs laid crosswise side by side flat face up and round side embedded in the crudely prepared soil base …   Wiktionary

  • corduroy road — noun historical a road made of tree trunks laid across a swamp …   English new terms dictionary

  • corduroy road — /ˌkɔdʒərɔɪ ˈroʊd/ (say .kawjuhroy rohd), /ˈkɔdərɔɪ/ (say kawduhroy) noun a road which is constructed of logs laid together transversely, as one designed to cross swampy ground …  

  • corduroy road — noun : a road built of logs laid side by side transversely and usually used in low or swampy places …   Useful english dictionary

  • Corduroy (disambiguation) — Corduroy is a woven fabric. Corduroy may also refer to: Corduroy (song), a 1994 song by Pearl Jam Corduroy (band), a London based acid jazz band Corduroy (TV series), a PBS animated television show Corduroy (book), a children s book by Don… …   Wikipedia

  • Corduroy — Cor du*roy (k[^o]r d[ u]*roi or k[^o]r d[ u]*roi ), n. [Prob. for F. corde du roi king s cord.] 1. A sort of cotton velveteen, having the surface raised in ridges. [1913 Webster] 2. pl. Trousers or breeches of corduroy. [1913 Webster] {Corduroy… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • corduroy — [kôr′də roi΄] n. [prob. < cord + obs. duroy, a coarse fabric formerly produced in England: hence, corded duroy] 1. a heavy cotton fabric with a piled, velvety surface, ribbed vertically 2. [pl.] trousers made of this fabric adj. 1. made of, or …   English World dictionary

  • corduroy — /kawr deuh roy , kawr deuh roy /, n. 1. a cotton filling pile fabric with lengthwise cords or ridges. 2. corduroys, trousers made of this fabric. adj. 3. of, pertaining to, or resembling corduroy. 4. constructed of logs laid together transversely …   Universalium

  • corduroy — I. noun (plural roys) Etymology: origin unknown Date: circa 1791 1. a. plural trousers of corduroy fabric b. a durable usually cotton pile fabric with vertical ribs or wales 2. logs laid side by side transversely to make a road surface II …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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