Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1849-01-03
Plank Roads.

Plank Roads.
Professor Gillspie. Of Union College,
4 practical engineer. has made an interest
Ing report on the subject Of Plank Roads
which we inser, below. The citizens Of
Portage county would find ii unquestiona.
Aly for their interest 10 move in this mat
,sr, and secure the construction of Plank
Roads, leading from the County seat in
dif1sren, directions, into the interior and re-
mote parts Of the county.
=, UNION CoLLEaE, Nov. 2lst, l645.
Nv Dear Sir.-As absence from the
q city will prevent my compliance with
YOUR request to attend your Plank Road
= meeting, | transmit you few memoran-
da upon that subject, derived from person.
al examinations, aad from the latest and
best authorities.
To an inland town like ours. roads are
substitutes Ior navignble rivers. The more
widely they radate in every dIrec'lon' ana
the better their condition. the greater VIII
be our prosperity. Their comparative val
ne is determined by the differen, weights
which horse can draw upon them at any
uniform speed, or by the different speeds at
which he can draw the same load. OF all
modes Of improving their surface, Plank
roads are the most effectual at the smallest
cost. liz we take the load drawn on anew
gravel as our standard Of comparison, ex-
oerimenls show that on good broken stone,
ar Macadam road, horse can draw four
times as much, and on smooth Plank road
eight times as much, or twice as much as
on good Macadam road.
Plank roads, therefore, ennble horse 20
do more than any other arrangement ex-
cept Railroads. But invaluable as the lat
ter are to the hurrying traveller. the ordi-
nary roads on which every farmer can
drive his own team, when not needed tor
the farm hbors, are incomparably more
useful to the community at large-and OF
all such, Plank roads are the perfection.
They are the Farmers Railroads.
MODE OF CONSTRUCTION.
The best method Of constructing them
is briefly this: Lay out the intended line
with great care 10 avoid seep inclInations.
never ascending more than one foot in 60
ing 80 or 40; and winding 80 feet round
rather than to go up one. Grade the road
bed wide enough for two wagon tracks,
but plank only one; and that on The right
hand side coming towards a city, for teams
generally come in heavy and go out Light,
and this arrangement makes the heavy
ones keep the track, and the light ones do
all the turning cut. Lay down f1atwise
two stringers, II By g. four feet apart. CEN
tre to centre. .mbed them well with earth.
Across them, at right angles, lay 3 inch
semloek planks feet long. The length
wise and skewing methods Of laying them
are now abandoned. Pack the earth we'll
up to them. Slope the earth track towards
The bitches (which should be wide and
6sep,) and your plank road is made.
Many minor points must, however, be
attended to, TO make your road as perfect
as possible. The inner ssringers should be
higher than the outer ones, SO as to carry
the water off freely. They should be in
two pieces, each 6 bv 3, SO as TO break
joints. The ends of the planks should moi
be laid TO q line, but project q few inches,
on each side alternately, so us to make it
easy for wheels to get on the track, and to
avoid forming ru: along the side. They
need not be fastened down, but would re-
commend spiking down, say. every 5lh or
10th plank, the rest being we'll driven
home against these. The siringers are
now made heavier than formerly, and the
plank lighter. When hemlock plank gets
worn down two inches, the knots project
go as TO make it rough. and to require re-
newal. Allow one inch more 10 hold them
in, and we have three inches thickness
Hemlock is generally used, as cheapest
bat pine or oak would be better.
A single track will be sufficient for al
most any amount of travel. The turnings
out upon the earth road by the side Of i
are at such varied points. that its surface
if made properly crowning will always re-
main in good condition. 100000 teams
passed over Syracuse road in two years
averaging more than 200u day; and fol
three days in succession 700 day passed
over it; and all this was on single track
COST.
The cost Of the roed of course will vary
with The price of lumber. On the plan re
commended, it will require 127, eco feet o
plank, and $4,000 feet Of s,ringers PEI
mile; in all say 100. 900 feet board meas
ure. Other items Of cost are the levelins
the road bed, and laying the plank. which
costs from soc 10 ST. per rod. The exca
vas:ons and embankments necessary to give
the road proper grades, and the bridga'
and sluices. cannot be estimated witnou
the data Of a survey. Omitihg these. as
also gate houses, we will have The follow.
ing rough estimate of cost per mile:
Lumber, 100. 600 #. n, SO per NJ. sl.44O
Leyeliing and laying at 75c per rod 24o
Engineering and superinlendence lOo
1,7s9
Add for contingencies, 10 per cent lis
Total 1858
Or say $4,000 per mile, with lumber al
%. and emitting extra excavations and
embahkments, and gate houses. The diff,
II