Bob La Londe wrote in
rec.crafts.metalworking on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 07:27:01 -0700:

A crown makes for a pretty road, but it will also rut and wash away faster.

That is exactly the opposite of what I've been told, and what I've
observed. A flat dirt(not gravel) road will take tire impressions
when wet(wheel rut). That slight impression will hold water. The
next car will splash out the water and some dirt along with it.
Deeper impression= more water= more dirt loss. This can continue
until the wheel ruts are deeper than your axle clearance.

On a crowned road, that first slight impression doesn't hold the water
and the cycle isn't started. It will still need touching up now and
then but that is to be expected.
I guess you get the choice between standing water when it rains or ruts that
will break an axle when it comes to dirt road building. I suspect there may
be some real planning involved. For occasional touch up a long drag frame
seems to be the prefer method by some folks.

Made one of those, works great for smaller ruts and small potholes.
Can't move too much at one time, or it all goes to mud, and can't move
dirt along the road too far. But great for adding a bit of crown to a
road and smoothing out washboard.

--

Dan H.
northshore MA.