The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-07-24

| D0On UAo petmdH0uJ expenditure III
repairs.
For more than forty scores of years
they have been trying to make per-
manent street roads, and rate payers
affirm that main feature is repair al
so. The Romans set an example of
the formation of solid roads, made
with huge blocks of stone, which un-
der their comparatively light loads
We're permanent till abraded into ruts,
but for many reasons Roman roads
90 not suit modern requirements.
In the first place, in cities, with
the miles of pipes large and small,
lad down at various depths, and CON
stanty requiring access for repairs,
which is only to be obtained by dig
glng up the surface. it has been found
impossible to maintain a good road,
even after one has been made.
The paved surface is to the road
what the tire is to the wheel. a con-
trivance for preventing the destruc-
ton of the substructure or the road
proper. But just as some wheels are
made to depend for their strength on
the tire, SO it is frequently sought to
make the roadaconsist wholly of sur
face without any really efficient sub
structure. The road surface is usual
arched for two reasons: Firstly, to
make 1T key together, by AUDITING
against the side curbs, and secondly,
to run off the water. But as the arch
is not formed of cut stones in radial
lines, but of rough stones, filled ir-
regularly between joints with mud
or concrete, or grouting, the blows
from the heavily-leaden wheels crack
the brittle joint packing, and drive
down the stones in succession, and
forming shallow pools,in which water
lies and soaks through the joints and
the evenness Of the surface once de-
stroyed, the whole goes rapidly to
ruin.
The average maximum weight per
wheel lon road wagon is about one
ton. Dropping from a projecting
stone on to sunk one, it acts like a
pile-driving machine, and the stones
being without continuity become sep
arate wedges to be driven in. If the
stones We're continuous they would
not be disturbed With large sur
fsce, as on Roman road they lie qui
ct, and being thick enough they do
not break. But to pave whole road
in that manner would be costly, and
moreover, would not give foothold to
the horses. The defect, therefore, in
almost all roads,is the want of a con-
tinuous under-surface that will not
separate or break to pieces. Efforts
have been made to obtain this by
bed of concrete, but concrete is
brittle substance, without elasticity,
and q certain amount of elasticity is
essential to elude the force of the
| blows.
The road wagon wheel is loaded to
one ton, but the driving-wheels OF
many particularly those
used on the Metropolitan railways Of
London, are loaded up to eight tons
each. The ground area of mile of
railway is in round numbers $500
square feet, but the real bearing area
Of the timber sleepers is only about
1920, supposing them all packed
solid. If, therefore, we could ma&ea
timber structure of mile of roadway
distributed over the whole area in
stead of at intervals, we should oh
tain road four times the strength of
any railway, and only subject to de-
cay chemically.
But chemical decay in pine timber
can be arrested indefinitely by creo-
soting, ETC.. land burying in the ground
Especially moist ground, just as piles
last under bridge piers. The road