Daily globe., 1878-04-21

contact with the sand, there would not be SO
much decay, and that tar is useless expense
in the laying of wooden pavements.
I believe also that the preservation of
wooden pavements attributed to coating of
tar has been really caused by moisture held
there by the intervention of tar.
Twas in Detroit in 1875 to examine their
wooden pavements and found they had given
up everything but cedar block pavement. I
| saw there short street paved with cedar
| which had borne the concentrated hauling
from the warehouses for five years and ap-
! peared as good as new.
Cedar block pavement is laid by forming
the street bed to the proper form of the fin
| ished street, upon this is laid six inches of
sand which is well rolled, then the cedar
| poles from four to ten inches in diameter are
barked and cut in lengths of seven inches
and laid on the consolidated sand and well
rammed down with hand rammers, II ia
also top-dressed with sand, and wedges are
driven into the openings between the blocks
twelve inches in length.
Our Nicholson pavement at Fort Wayne
is laid on six inches of sand, first, sheeting
of pine boards lengthwise of the street, then
blocks four inches wide and five inches deep
laid one inch apart, the spaces between the
blocks are packed with a screened gravel, tar
youred in and rammed, in two years the
blocks have worn one-eighth of an inch. The
timber was white oak, no strips ware used
between the blocks.
CHICAGO.
The following arc from a paper on the
wooden pavement of Chicago, by E. A. Fox,
G. E.:
~ think no stone pavement has been laid
in Chicago for nearly twenty years, except a
very little macadam, and consequently the
great bulk Of our pavement, embracing over
one hundred and one lineal miles, consists
of pine or hemlock blocks, and with more or
less modification upon the Nicholson plan.
Scarcely any of these streets are less than
sixty-six feet wide, and fully one-half are
eighty feet, the former having roadway of
thirty eight feet, and the latter of forty
eight feet, and when it is remembered that
these streets have to bear the brunt of the
heavy travel, which notoriously turns off
from all others to seek the wooden pave
ment, it will be seen that Chicago has had
an extensive. experience, and while we still
grumble about them, as the people of all
cities do about their pavements, the fact that
we continually lay more, and replace those
worn out, shows that it is not, perhaps, the
} best pavement in the world, but that so far
all things considered. we have not vet found
better one.
The unsolved problem of a perfect pave
ment does not depend for its solution sc
much upon its top stratum, or pavement, as
upon secure foundation. Every sensible
man must see that stone, iron, asphalt OF
) wood alike become irregular, and go to de-
struction if not properly supported. Yet
the principal part Of the criticism, and Of
plans for improvement, is directed to the
upper stratum or finishing part. Every hole
) in our wooden pavement has been attributed
t to rotten blocks, when perhaps it might bt
found that single dry clod or lump of clay
that had propped up the pavement while
hard, and afterward crumbled and settled
t with moisture, was in fault. If some grea
roof saggged or ':buckled' we might as vel
: attribute it to the shingles or states tha
covered it, and instead Of finding fault will
the rafters, trusses or foundation of sup
, porting walls. propose remedy by substi
tuting tiles or tin for shingles. But this i
: what is dene by changes from wood to stone
from stone to iron, from iron to asphalt
when all will be equally bad if placed on
bad foundation.
The feature in the wooden pavement mos
unaccountable to those who attribute all ce
\ fects to rotten blocks is not the absolute de
+ cay of the material within a reasonable time
O. which of course is to be expected, but th
1 great supposed irregularity in the decay
} every hole in the streets being attributed t
e the decay of the blocks, and these defect
t appearing i'll many cases a few weeks O
9 months after the paving is done.
}. Whatever may be the effect of climate il
9 Washington, or in other cities, where deca
s is said to be such prominent cause of tn
: defect of wooden pavements, I am convince
}, it is among the smallest in this city, at leas
4 on the heavily travelled streets, where thin
! the blocks are settled into holes, split an
a battered out of existence, before they hav
o time to decay. I have seen old pavement
a taken up notably that Of South Water stree
e some five OF six years ago, where the block
t were worn down from six inches to less tina
J. two by the immense travel on that stree
b and nearly all perfectly sound.
l. The progress of the art of paving wit
/ wood in the city of Chicago, as made by th
n contractors, has developed considerable prt
J., fciency in the art of show not to do it.
" This, however, has been partially countel
# acted by the skill and watchfulness of Il
10 engineers and inspectors, but the result
N turning loose these old and experience
PAYERS upon the unsophisticated officials
" Washington must have developed ability
n the art above mentioned, unknown in th
1e city.
as WHAT THE WASHINGTON BOARD OF HEA11
10 SAYS.
ir The board of health of Washington r
4 ports of the pavements laid by Chicago CO
- : tractors: That within three years from Il
If time they were laid, every one Of them ga
,e more or less evidence of very rapid decor
j. position, and some of them have decayed
ae rapidly as to give rise to mass Of dangero
ny putrefaction.
90 90 This may be the effect of climate or of t
|zs antiseptics with which the blocks were tire.
rs ed, for no one can say that such horrit
IT, pavements can be found in Chicago, even .
'n II ter ten years of use. That the recently ls
- specimens of wooden pavement in Chica
ht stand as well as they do is remarkable, I
IS, they are not much more akin to the Mich