Omaha daily bee., 1883-06-25
The Paving Problem.

The Paving Problem.
At u meeting of the board of public
works held on Saturday, bids were
opened for the furnishing of necessary
material to pave certain districts Of this
city. Bids were received for
Sheet asphalt on years guarantee for 81 %
per square yard.
Sheet asphalt ON 10 years guarantee for SO. 10
per square yard.
Sioux Falls granite with concrete foundation
at S4.So per square yard.
Sioux Falls granite with broken stone and
sand foundation at Si.25 per square yard.
Sandstone blocks with broken stone and sand
foundation, $40 per square yard by II. &.
Jenkinson.
Sandstone blocks with broken stone and sand
foundation, $500 per square yard by James
Stephenson.
AS far as the character of the asphalt
pavement is concerned everybody can
observe the same, at present, while it is
laid upon our streets, and form his own
Judgment about it. Regarding the two
bids the company puts in rs to the price
demanded by them for a five or ten years
guarantee, it appears that the company
acknowledges the fact that after a five
years use their product will need a re-
pair of at least 52c per square yard, if the
material should be serviceable for another
five years, and this only should they be
able to control the repairs of the
streets themselves. IL is reasonable
to suppose that if only five years guaran-
tee is desired that after the expiration of
that time the cost to keep the streets
paved with asphalt will amount to 81 OF
even more per square yard, which would
amount to 20 cents per square yard per
year, or in fifteen years it would cost the
amount paid for when originally laid
down, or i'll twenty years it would reach
the cost of granite pavement, which does
not need repairs for fifty years. The
granite is no longer a paving material
for trial, rs the same has, throughout the
world, been announced rs the only paw
ing material fit for use. How admirably
it works on Tenth street, notwithstand-
ing all climatic influences the contractor
has encountered so far, is too well known
to need any further comment. In let
ting the contract for paving with granite
no questions were asked as to how long
the guarantee for durability of that kind
of material would be given, rs it was too
well understood by the city engineer and
board of public works, that the guarantee
was unlimited.
The bids for sandstone were made by
b. G. Jenkinson, ESQ, for $40 per
square yard, or broken stone and sand
foundation, while the Hon. James Steph-
enson made his bid for the stone at 80. 60.
The sandstone proposed to be furnished
is understood t. be Fort Collins, Colo.
sandstone. In this connection it would
be well to state that if the samples pre-.
sented to the board of public works are
an average product of the Fort Collins
quarries, it should be borne in mind thai
that class of sandstone is hardly fit fol
use in foundation walls of very common
buildings. 1t will never stand the test
of the specifications submitted by tn,
board of public works, if such specifica
tions are enforced; which calls for a sand
stone of good quality, free from graina nt
texture, cracks and seam of every ma
ture. The samples submitted to the
board by the above named gentlemen
which can be examined by the public
show the layers of qualification and lam
nation, with u mixture of iron already
in a state of decomposition. 1t woul(
be unfair to suppose that the gentlemen
composing the board of public works
would hesitate a minute, while their abil
ity to judge the quality of sandstone re
CURED forpaving is so wellknown
to accept material proposed to be used ol
our public thoroughfares in accordance
with samples submitted,
In conclusion, it would be well to stat,
that sandstone of the quality proposes
could not, under the moot liberal con
struction of the specifications, be regard
ed rs a fit material for paving. j. S.