Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1849-01-25
BURLINGTON HAWK-EYE.
Plank Roads.

Plank Roads.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON STATISTICS
The Committee on Statistics respectfully submit
to the meeting the following extracts from the N
Y. Tribune, the Buffalo Patriot and the Prairie Far
mer in reference to Plank Roads together with some
remarks shelving their application to the project
under consideration Of road from Burlington to M
Pleasant.
The paper extracted from the Tribune is from the
pen of DR. Gillespie of Utica, the author of the
on this subject.
"To inland towns roads are substitutes
for navigable rivers. The more widely
they radiate in every direction, and the
better their condition, the greater will be
the consequent prosperity. The compar-
alive value is determined by the different
weights which horse can draw upon
them at any uniform speed, or by the diff
ferent 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. Ii we take
the load drawn on new gravel road as
our standard Of comparison, experiments
show that on good broken stone, or Mac
adam road, horse can draw four times
as much, and on a smooth Plank road
eight times as much, or t,cice as much as
on good Macadam road.
Plank roads, therefore, enable horse
to do more than anyother arrangement ex-
cept Railroads. But invaluable as the
latter are to the hurrying traveller, the or
binary roads on which every farmer can
drive his own team, when not needed for
the farm labors, are incomparably more
useful to the community at large-and Of
all such, Plank roads are the perfection.
They are the Farmers Railroads.
NOPE OF sTRucrIoN.-The best
mode Of constructing them is briefly this:
Lay out the intended line with great care
to avoid steep inclinations, never ascend
ing more than one foot in going thirty or
forty, and winding many feet around than
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 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 out. Lay down flatwise two
stringers, twelve by three, four feet apart,
center to center. Imbed them we'll in the
earth; across them, at right angles, lay
three inch hemlock plank, eight feet long.
The lengthwise and skewing methods of
laying them are now abandoned. Pack
the earth well up to them; slope the earth
track toward the bitches (Which should be
wide and deep, and your Plank road is
made.
Many minor points must, however, be
attended to, to make your road as perfect
as possible. The inner stringers should
be higher than the outer ones, SO as to
carry the wafer off freely. They should
be in two pieces, each 6 by 3, SO as to
break joints. The ends of the planks
should not be laid to line, but project
few inches, on each side alternately, so as
to make it easy for wheels TO get on the
track, and to avoid forming rut alongside.
They need not be fastened down, but l
would recommend spiking down, say, eve
ry fifth or tenth plank, the rest being we'll
driven home against these. The >tringers
are now made heavier than formerly and
the plank lighter. When hemlock plank
get worn down two inches, the knots pro-
ject so as to make the road too rough,
and to require renewal. Allow one inch
more 10 hold them in, and we have three
inches thickness. Hemlock is generally
used, as cheapest, but 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 it
are at such varied points, that its surface,
if made properly browning will always re-
main in good condition. 10000 teams
passed over aSyracuse road in two years,
averaging more than 200 day; and for
three days in succession 700 day passed
over il; and all this was on single track.
Cosr.-The cost Of the road will of
course vary with the price of Humber. On
the plan recommended it will require 127,-
oOO feet Of plank, and 80, 900 feet of strin-
gers per mile: in all say 100000 feet
board measure. Other items of cost are
the leveling the road bed and laying the
plank, which costs from 30 cents to 81
per rod. The excavations and embank-
nents necessary to give the road proper
grades, and the bridges and sluices cannot
be estimated without the data Of survey.
Omitting these. as also gate-houses, we
will have the following rough estimate Of
cost per mile:
Lumber, 100000 feet, at 80 per NJ e1,440
Leveiing and laying, at 75c. per rod $40
Engineering and superintendence 100
Add for contingencies, 10 per cent l7s
Or say $4,000 per mile, with lumber
at SO, and emitting extra excavations and
embankments and gate houses. The differ
ence Of dollar per M. in the price of
lumber, makes djfferenc of $3.50 per mile.
DuRArIoN.--As to durability, seven
years for hemlock would be safe es,i-
mate, though our experience is as yet very
limited. One set Of stringers will outlast
two or three coverings Of plank. But, to
be profitable, the plank must have so much
travel as to ,rear them out before they rot
out. The wear and tear of the first year
equals that OF the following six, as tough
elastic coating of woody tibres, &c. is soon
formed, and protects the plank from W ear.