Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1848-12-21

tudn RAILROADS, Is called Tor IN all pOr-
tons OF our Territory. Assuming such
to be the sentiment of the Council and
OF the community, we find our inquiry
narrowed down to choice between
MACADAMIZED AND PLANK ROADS.
Believing they were not giving a wi
der scope to their investigations than
the importance of the matter warranted,
your committee extended their inquiries
10 the provinces of Canada, and to all
} those portions of our own country which
gave promise of adding to their stock of
information on this subject and they
now find themselves in possession of
mass of facts and statistics which have
; forced conviction upon their own
minds, that PLANK ROADS are better a
: dapted to the wants of Wisconsin at
large, and to the circumstances of our
farmers and business men, at The pres
, ent juncture, than any or all other mod
ern road improvements. And IS plank
, road making is new theory, an untried
/" scheme" TO most of our people, your
committee hope they will not be trans
, cending the sphere Of their duty by pre-
senting to the Council a rapid sketch Of
/, the progress of this species of road inn
provement, the mode of construction,
! durability, cost, &C., and the superiority
of plank over Macadam and all other
, kinds of roads.
MAcADAM Cor broken stone) roads
have been in use for about one third Of
a century, while the adoption Of PLANK
ROADS, at least in the United States,
does not date back scarcely half dozen
5 years and yet the latter seem in fair
way almost to sIpercede the use of the
former Macadam roads are made of
f hard stone, broken up with hammers
into pieces about an inch in diameter,
) and this metal is spread upon the grad
; ed bed of the road to a depth of six to
twelve inches. At first these roads are
S heavy to travel on, exceedingly annoy
I ing to tender footed animals, and labo-
l. rions for team to haul loaded vehicle
over; but in time the broken stones
1 become pulverized on the surface, and
I form mass of comparative smoothness
and solidity. Yet this solidity is far
S from being permanent: A Macadam
4 road, Gan experienced genilcman* writes
: us from Detroit,) built with a sufficient
e quantity Of stone say ten or twelve in
e chcs of the metal to be durable, will
d be expansive in any locality, and built
:. otherwise, it will be destroyed at the
s breaking up of the ground in the spring,
i or be so injured as 10 require extensive
repairs" A report from certain road
l. commissioners to the Canadian Board of
n Public Works, shows that the cost of
= one mile of Macadam road will make
- and maintain nearly four miles of plank
l. road-the expenditures on the former
E. averaging about S6,22O per mile, while
r those on the latter ought ofener TO fall
)" short than exceed $4,000 per mile.-
I'd And the report to The New York Sem
Of ate declares, that "experence proves
r that plank road over the same line
4 with Macadam one, can be built and
10 maintained for less than the interest on
ID the cost of the Macadam one, added to
l. its yearly required repairs" II Canada
he eight feet in width of Macadam road
C. was taken up to make room for a plank
t. track and ''men who have travelled
c. over the best roads in England, say
D. there is not as good road in there, as
lie the Salina plank road" In Canada it
r. has been tested by actual experiment,
e, that the adoption of plank in lieu of
so broken stone as the covering Of road,
ly has effected a saving of an amount sut-
I'D fcient to replank the road every three
OF years, whereas the same panking will
Isl ordinarily last for ten years. An expert
or enced and intelligent road-maker in
'ts Canada remarks, that "no stone in a
IL clay sol! can stand in that climate, I'M
OF less It rests upon bed OF some appro-
OF pirate material thick enough to protect
n it from the FROST" TO be thick enough
y for that purpose it should have depth
4 of twelve to fourteen inches of compact
broken stone and to give ii such coat
lis ing would render il rulnously expensive
e. in its construction, and consequently
IS" profi,less TO its owners. 1t was the heav-
as ing up of the foundation by the action
III of the frost, that so disrupted a Macad-
is am road near Toronto, as to render il
ost nearly impossible in wet and cold wealth
lat err, and which occasioned the taking oi
he il up and substituting plank track in
RS, its stead, the remaining portion of the
p- Macadam track being used as turn
we out path. On this road, even after some
nd portion of the plank had become entire
e. " worn through the very beasts OF bur
ull den instinctvely preferred the plank to
as the Macadam track; and when relned
an from the former to the latter in turning
~ out, would of their own accord mmedi-
IRE ately turn back upon the plank track
on when not prevented.
oh But in this comparison Of the relative
We value of plank and stone roads { Macad.
III am and stone we use as SYNONYMOUS
Ia terms,) we have exhibited but few OF
en- the peculiar
ce ADVANTAGES OF PLANK ROADS.
IN All who have given much attention to
IRE ConI;nued on An page.