Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-02-13
MACADAMIZED ROADS.

lS suDJcCl VI lHlIIONSu VI ulhCulidul
lied roads is an important one in this part
of the State, greatly owing to the fact that
the material with which they are construc-
ted is scarce, therefore, necessarily costly
That our principal thoroughfares must and
will be improved, is not question OF doubt;
but the best time and mode of doing this
is the subject for consideration. There is
great amount of time and money useless
ly expended upon roads from the fact that
the work is only partly completed and has
! to be done over again in short time.
| Would it not be economy to COMPLETE one
mile of road in a season instead of leaving
two miles half finished by the same amount
of work.
All information obtainable on this i'm
portant subject should be preserved, and
with this view we append communica-
ton to the Defiance Express, from citizen
Of th.t place, who evidently has given the
subject more than passing thought:
| The bost time to discuss any question Of gem
aral Importance is when that question is prom
inent before the attention of all aud when those
persons whose duty it is t. decide such ques-
| tions have ample time to give them due eOnsd-
GRAFTON. Every ons ought to be familiar enough
! with the condition in whi,h our roads have con-
| tinually been Tor several months past and the
iucon snieacss and delays, which properly
| .hsuld be classed Rs direct damages, to which
the majority have been subjected on that ao-
| eoun'. May not this be desnsd the proper
! time to consider the very important question
| whs,ber our roads shall be permanently i'm
proved or not7 The more esmm1n answer 10
this question is that we have not the material
with which TO make 4 good road nor we
| procure such What would be necessary for
| this purposef The material most generally
used is gravel nr brsken stone. Next after this
comes siudere from iron furnaces and formerly
were used bard burned bricks or balls of clay
specally prepared. Two kinds OF gravel, hno
and coarse, have been ussd for road making and
each kind has served good purpose and been
specially advocated. In selecting the cOarss
gravel all is rejected that will not pass through
. holes of "a or inches in diamter and all that
does go through A inch holes. OF the frat
kind tolerabs quality may be found In large
auanliss on both sides of tue Maumse river be-
tween Defiance ani Independence. Ia the re-
eiuns where this gravel abpunds the roads are
hard aud smooth at all times when there is pres
, ont no clay or other soil that has bssn washed
there bv rains. Gravel is also tannd IN different
at the bend OF the canal, three miles west. from
, town. Tho eoarser kind of gravel may be
found in the beds Of both Of our rivers in large
quantty.
? The bed of the Auglaizs River can furnlsl
f stone enough to macadanlz0 this whole coun'
try. Thers is also at Paulding Furnace, and
on the canal, Alarge quantity Of cinders thai
, could be readily utilized.
John j. Macadam originated the plan Of en-
ploynE broken stone on roads. After abou
twenty wears attention to this subject, he sue
q coed, against much opposition, in constructing
the hrst road on this plan. This was as late Al
1915, and the rapidity with which the roads o
England were Macada missed after he practical
ly demonstrated the value Of his theory, is littl
short of wonderful. II 600 miles or more, wer
thus permanently improved within few years
This plan consists in opening the bitches .
as to insure thorough drainage, rounding an
smoothing tho road bed in dry weather, and the
covering it with broken stone three or four inch
ss in thickness. When these stones are some
what worn or ruts are formed, another Goa tin
ia laid on during a light rain, and 50 three, VI
if necessary, four layers are given.
These stones are carefully broken ~ as to
quite uniform and Of sizs to pass through a
iron guage 2 u inches in diameter.
With such variety and quantity OF materia
within very easy reach, why should we lonRe
neglect its utilization when all of our better in
terssts inlperatiysy demand it awe are M
able, p,cuniarily," will be the too frequent az
swer to this question, so our next thoughts wi
be given to the probable Gust Of such an sntsl
prise. This can now only be appreximateC
and to this end the sx asrisnoe of practical me
in this business will be taken as the basis
n Judgment. The writer is acquainted with
civ, outside the limits Of which no person ca
u drive without paying toll. All Of its nine RI
as dating roads arc always in such excellent cor
= ditou that it is pleasure to ride over them an
u persons using them pay their toll wilIinGl
"a "a, Of ala,l Nha
W summation Of this imprO Vsment is to tbs ete
that those roads cost less than 81 .00U per mil
le No coarse gravel0r stone was used in their COZ
nj atructlOn. Much care was exercised in graz
n. ing the roadway and in giving proper openin
" to the mouths of bitches. The gravel used WI
of the finer quality taken from the bed Of u
~ river which runs through the city. was haul'
. by teams and distributed over tho r0adwa,
fourteen feet In Width fourteen inches in dSp
d, at the road center and six inches at the edges
Many Of these reads ave been in use for Sc
eral years and the repairs they have requir
" have been merely nominal in amount while I
to tolls have been paying the stockholders go
he 4 vidSnds
Nv Ills probable that our roads can be put
OF equally as good condition as those referred
III aud at no greater Outay.
~ Tax PAYERS why shall not two miles or mo
of Drhince's streets be thus permanently II
II proved the coming summer for the $4,000 o'
at lected for their benefit 81 that ne can save t
sum annually herea itsr.
80 There arc road laws providing ways where
he sufficient money can be raised to carry forwa
ad this work tie principal roads through
!, country. II necessary a special act can
he o5tsinel, the provisions OF which will not pro
al particularly burdensome now, and which "
RI prove profitable hereafter.
In concluding this article gire the folio
" ing Interesting results Of experiments made
- determine the force Of traoti,n sKerted upon d
Iro fsrent roads to move forward the sans wag
:, and load, altogether Weighing twenly-ons nv
u drsd