Telegram-herald., 1890-09-20
MODEL STREETS
Something me New worla Has 70
Lean From ths Ola.
TEE BEST IS CHEREST H TIE ED
stresg Foaadatloas, the Bsss Materials
ana ssaesE serk are keaulr~i ~
fE.ases faseDasGts Kh4t uAi
S1aad the Test sk ftuse.

80 nsuch bas been sad about the var
legs kiats Of street payement during
ths pas. year thai tae fkLzsRssl HGs-
AID has tskea pains 90 look into me
methoas employees ia the older citles
acFcss the sea. ln railways, hotels snd
pa1ilc buildings Americans very justly
eiam q be tNsuty years ahead # the
oh world, bat wnen Is comes 10 street
paving, road building ana sewer system
lney are much farther behind than
that. In london. the largest. busiest
aat almost the dirtiest city on the globe,
paving has narrowed down 20 three sys-
tems. In All OF them they hegn right,
by laying solid foundation. The
IEIxGRAa-HERALD saw a gang of men
tearing up street in London and en-
gagged tae boss in conversation.
How much concrete DO you genef-
ally lay Tor a foundation"
I'VE lays different thickness. sir. :"
sad he. This beng street whore the
ground IS very hard We only puts down
eighteen inches. bat generally we puts
down twenty four inches. That makes
good base and the pavement stands
many years"
The i IELEoRAM- -HERAID thought of
/ Grand Rapids, with It's cedar blocks on
| loose sand. and wondered what some
/ OF the paving economists AZ home would
/ .ay % sUCh an expense as tals, wnei,
/ they are terrurized al the cost of as
/ phalt on q six-lncA concrete base.
/ On TINS eighteen OF tWenty-l0ur inch
/ foundation IS LAID either an oight-inch
/ pavement OF granite or wooden blocks,
I or q four-lnch surface OF asphalt
The granite blocks are cemented to-
I gether with Portland cement. This
/ style of pavement has one good quail
| ity, and that IS great durability, and II
4 is little cheaper than either OF the
/ others.
Its Disadvantages arc that 1t crumbles
IT the edges, and presents rounded
/ surface 10 the hOOfs of horses and the
wheels of carriages. In few months
II becomes very slippery for horses, es-
peclally when wet, and the lar and
noise IS simply distracting. rapid
| drive OF four OF five miles over 1t leaves
= person half stunned, and wholly dis
/ gusted.
The Londoners know how to get the
/ best possible service out of wooden
| blocks. The blocks are cut from two
and half inch plank eight inches
wide. and arc SIX inches long. They
are thoroughly saturated with crcOSote,
and then, when Il thick coat of coal tor
IS tiOYed over the concrete they are
I stood on end, with narrow space be-
/ tween each one. The space Is raElmcd
+ full OF sand, and TINS Is cemented with
/ coal tar, making n solid and waterproof
/ pavement. IT wears very evenly, and
/ lasts from seven 10 ten years. This
| pavement has but one fault, and that
| 5 2 bad one. When It IS wet, an oily,
/ soapy scum forms on the surface, and
a banana peel lisas sand paper compared
/ with It.
The best and most comfortable streets
/ IN all the foreign cities are paved with
/ asphalt. This pavement is the smooth
/ est OF all, but IS far less slippery than
! the creOSoted blocks, and is almost ab-
/ sOlutely nOlseless. 1t stands the heaviest
1 traffic Tor ten or more years and is
easily patched or resurfaced.
! The SeyereSt test of It's durability was
/ observed III some OF the narrow streets
I o; Brussels, where there could be but 4
single street railway track. The for
ward trucks Of the car are provided
/ with circle plate SO that by drawing q
| pin they can be turned about like au
/ Omn bus or wagon. When two cars
meet, one of them turns out upon the
pavement and the other passes on the
/ track. There are some streets where
/ there is no track At all and the cars
| cross from one line to another some
/ times distance OF fOut or FIVE blocks
and the fang or the car wheel seem:
10 make no impression upOn the sur
I face of the pavement. There is nc
secret TO the success OF good paving
IL simply needs lo bc we'll pounded and
/ thoroughly surfaced, and il needs nc
further attention, except cleaning, fol
years % come.
The main streets in sll European
cltes arc kept wonderfully clean
/ There is not pa al Paris OF Brussels q
1 neglected hack alley that VIII compare
with NOuroc-st. n filth and nsstiness
and there are few streets iu LondC,
taatare any worse. In fact the c0uC
try roads OIL Europe are superior 10 tn,
/ average city pavement in orr owl
country.