Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1850-03-18
Plank Roads.

We end in the Fredericksburg Recorder re-
remarkably practical and satisfactory letter on
this subject from Leonard H. Dunlap, civil En-
gineer. He seems quite familiar with it, and
we cannot too strongly commend to our readers
the pointed and common sense statement we
extract:
A Plank. Road has many advantages over 9th
er roads. viz: 1t can be built for less money,
kept in repair at very trifing expense, and Is
considered as good as any in the United States
or Canada. There is no road now in operation,
to my knowledge, which is not paying, from Is
to SO per cent This fact can be seen by refer
ring to the Engineer'sreport to the N. \. Legis-
lature.
There are many who bring toward several
objections to Plank Roads, some Of which are,
e. the track way is too narrow; horses cannot
keep on the track = Chow are we to turn out
and get on the road again y "won't the plank
wear out or rot very soon 2" Now Sir, can
answer all these from my own experience and
observation In the year 1841, during Lord
Sydenham's administration in Canada, Plank
Roads were first built to any extent They were
then built 1s feet wide but in a few years al
Ter the board of public works saw that it was
only useless expenditure OF money having them
so wide caused those then under contract to
be constructed only feet and all repairs re-
quired on those already finished to be taken
from the surplus plank and sleepers on the l6
feet track, making the road only #. This has
been found to answer every purpose, and II
YOU only look at any turnpike or McAdamlsed
road when in good order, you will perceive that
the main track way is not more than feet in
width. 1t is well known that horses will al
WAYS seek the best road, and if they can travel
on a feet dirt road, surely they will keep on an
8 feet plank one, which is so much easier for
them in every respect. The great difficulty is
in getting the horses off the plank when Obliged
to turn out.
On turning out one wheel will necessarily be
on the dirt track, which, when properly formed,
is as firm and solid, as the other, but OF course
the friction is greater The dirt, when the road
is first formed, will be about 8 inches higher
than the plank, TO allow for shrinkage. When
the road settles the plank and dirt will be pretty
much on levet. AS to rot, the timber you
have in Virginia rs superior to our northern
timber, now in use, viz: white pine and hemock.
This, know, has worn out in less than seven
years, but as for rotting out, thereis not an En-
gineer among us can tell anything about that,
all our roads have worn out before they had
time to rot when it comes TO rotting il is a
mighty bad business. On one road in N. York
near Syracuse, year before last, it was ascer-
tanned that 100000 teams had passed over ii,
during that time lone yearl and that the actual
wear was about the eighth of an inch. Last fall
saw Mr. Geddes, who informed me that the
road had been nearly three years in operation,
and the actual wear was not an inch, except in
the immediate vicinity Of the town. Now, sir,
the best argument can bring forward in favor
of Plank Roads, is that every Road built, with
out single exception, has fully answered the
purpose intended, pays enormous dividends and
h1r {rcfnn
The cost of Plank Roads in Canada is about
f4OO, Halifax currency, or $1,000. In the North
ern States, from $1,000 TO 1850 and here in
Virginia, in my opinion, they will cost from
1900 to 1000 dollars mile The cost of keep
ing Road in repair is pretty much the same all
over viz $25 for the LIST; and from $40 to Is
for the next five years.