The Portland daily press., 1872-04-23
The Street Department.


A few weeks ago we took occasion to discuss,
in brief article, the condition of our streets,
and point out some of the injurious effects of a
want of policy by our city government on this
important subject Since that time the snow
has disappeared, and during the process many
of our citizens have personally experienced the
truth of some of our remarks The science OF
matchmaking has received much attention in
other States, particularly Massachusetts, and
many of the smaller and more energetic towns
have sought the aid of scientific authority and
the best practical experience, and have avail
ed themselves of these means with the most
economical results. Undoubtedly the best ma
| teral for streets, where there is heavy teaming
is medum-sized cobble stones, carefully select
ed and properly laid in a bed of fine pin-gravel,
with the surface of the street rounded lust
enough to turu the water into the CUTTERS
This is preferable to the square granite block
pavement, as it never becomes slippery, and
if properly made is equally noiseless. Its dur
ability is already attested and as regards cost,
it is the cheapest permanent road that We can
obtain, for material is plenty and easily obtain
ed For ordinary roads the McAdam method is
undoubtedly the best, ard this is especially fay-
orable to Portland on account of durability and
handlness OF material. All our streets should
have paved cutters; this is matter of the first
Importance, especially for those streets which
are on the slopes; without them it is lmpossi-
bic to maintain good surface Gravel is ex-
celient material for roads, and for highways
In the country surpasses anything that can be
had, but on city streets it should not be depend
ed on solely, for it is subject to great changes
by use. And herein we find one great defect
in our method. Gravel has been used lavishly
until the supply has become limited and the
city every year is obliged to purchase lots of
land for the gravel which underlies them. Our
streets have been largely composed of this ma
terial. Every year they have received "top-
dressing" of it, holes have been flied with it,
and the consequence has been chat the road-beds
have been gradually brought above grade, sink
ing the sidewalks relatively below their proper
level, and turning the streets into mud-beds in
the spring and fall, part of which is washed
off by the rains to choke the culverts and fill
the sewers. One gravel pit holds thousands of
dollars worth of material that ought to be uti-
lized-largs stones that are thrown aside to be
sNAAS~ INV AAAohCy w SdthC1cIb VI UdildSt Ouc
OF the Street Commissioners of Massachusetts,
city was in Portland few days ago. and MOTTO
ing one of our gravel pits with its piles of re-
Jecued stones lying round, remarked to the gen.
tleman in whose company he was, "You Port
land people are blessed with an abundance of
road material right at your hands. You ought
to have better streets. We crush such stones
as those and put them in our streets We have
used up all we had and now send consider
able distance for them, and levy ON the rocky
beaches for supply" The city of Ports
mouth, N H., not long ago, introduced the
rock-crushing process in its street department,
and we are informed, with economy. We sug-
gest that during the coming season more Nc
Adam pavement be used in our city. We have
several streets in our mind which offer an ex-
cellent chance for it. Pearl street is one of
these. A foot of soil can be spared Let it be
taken off, layer of stone of three or four in
ches in diameter be laid down, covered with
layer of smaller stones and these in turn COW
cred with gravel If the surface is properly
shaped and the cutters paved the work is done
for number of years and the annual cost of
repairs will be so slight as to be scarcely no.
ticeable. what is worth doing at all isworth
doing well, is an adage that applies to road
making as well as to many other things, and if
this is adopted as mstto, our fifty miles of
streets will be in few years in thorough cpndi-
ton and five years hence we can begin to econ
omize byreducing the appropriations for streets,
for the present large amount will not be need
ed. We have wasted hundred thousand dol
lars within the past five years because we have
had no system. Let us begin anew. We do
not claim that the suggestions we have made
are the best that can be adopted. They, at
least deserve attention and if they evolve some
thing better let us have it. rr~E.H -IE