The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-22
ASPHALT MAY YET BE USED.
SOUTH BROAD STREET PAVEMENT
NOT FINALLY DECIDED ON.

Expert Here to Report on the
Question of Repairs to Asphalt
Pavements-An Asphalt Block
Company Wants n Chance to Bid,
RumOrs That DIR. FalIigant Was
Taken TO Task in the Caucus For
His Card.
South Broad street may be paved with
asphalt after all. Capt Henry C. Cum
bingham appeared before council last
night in behalf of the South Broad street
property owners. and made a very strong
argument in behalf of asphalt as against
vitrifed brick.
As a result of the arguments made by
Can't. Cunningham and Mr.. A. L. Alex
ander the representative OF the Warren
Scharf Asphalt Company here, the matter
of the material to be used in paving South
Broad street is held in allegiance. The
question is now largely that of the cost
of repairs, this being the main objection
to asphalt, and the Warren Scharf Com
pany is to be given an opportunity of
making a bid for taking charge Of the re-
pairs of all the asphalt paving in the city
in connection with bid for the paving
of South Broad street.
Capt. Cunningham said that he had been
informed by the newspapers of the with
drawal of Col Garrard's amendment for
the paving of South Broad street with as
phalt, leaving vitrified brick as the ma
terial specified in the paving ordinance.
He called attention to the fact that the pc
tition Of the large majority of the proper
" owners of South Broad street to coun-
Gil last spring urging the use Of asphalt
had not been withdrawn, and that this eX
preston from the property owners should
not be idly passed by. He called atten-
ton to the fact that the sixty-four house
holders whose names are attached to that
petition, represent a property value of
81. PSI, 900, all of them being residents of
Savannah. The point was raised that
some of these property owners might have
withdrawn their objections to brick since
that petition had been filed. Capt. Gun
ningham replied by calling over the names
of a number of large property owners on
South Broad street, by whom he had been
employed to come before council and urge
the use of asphalt.
In favor of asphalt, Capt. Cunningham
urged that it was clean, sanitary, com
paratively noiseless and handsome and
the cost was very little more than that of
brick, which difference in cost the prop
erty owners were perfectly willing to pay
AS for brick, he said, it was comparatively
new, something which had not been thor
oughly tried in this section. He pointed
out especially that it was not the custom
to lay brick anywhere without a concrete
foundation, as it is proposed to lay IL In
Savannah, with the exception Of one or
two cities where a double layer Of brick
has been laid. Laid in this manner, he
said, it was certain to sink and form
holes in the pavement. As to the differ
ence in cost, he said that the asphalt
company offered to lay a pavement for
195 a square yard and maintain 1t for
five years The brick pavement was esti-
mated to cost STA a square yard and all
repairs must be borne by the city If the
brick pavement wore out there was moth
ing left and an entirely new pavement
must be laid. If the asphalt pavement
wore out there was the concrete founda-
ton upon which a new surface could be
laid
lie submitted figures showing the COM
parative cost Of brick and asphalt pave
ments for South Broad street. He had
made his calculations for brick at $1n
per square yard, he said, but had since
been informed that the cost was STA per
E4uEfE dlQs WHICH " d cAtAA AlANAG III his
favor.
1t was explained that the asphalt COM
pany had made two bids, one for the
standard pavement such as that laid on
Bull and other streets, at S2.15 per square
yard, and the other for a lighter paving,
at sl.s5. The only difference between the
two pavements is that a one-half inch
coat known as the binder" which is
used in the former. is not used in the lat
ter pavement. The difference in the cost
to the city between the sl.95 asphalt and
brick at S1.7l is $2,521.36, and to the prop
erty owners on the same $2,764.l6. The cost
for a thirty-fOot front lot with the three
pavements is as follows: Brick, S3.35 per
front foot Sl00.50; asphalt at 1892 per
front foot Sl146O; asphalt, at $L1 per
front foot, $l26.42. Capt. Cunningham said
that the property owners preferred to pay
the slight difference in order 10 secure
the peter pavement.
Mayor Myers raised the point of the cost
of maintaining asphalt pavement in re-
pair. This cost was increasing every year,
he said, and it was apparent that 1t would
be necessary to do more surfacing every
year.
This brought out the fact that Mr.. Alex
ander, as the representative Of the War
ren-Scharf Company. had offered TO I'M
dertake the maintenance of all the as
phalt paving in the city at cents per
or been put in writing and seemed to be
news to most of the board. Mr.. Alexander
was asked if he would put this offer in
writing and said he would do so. He was
also asked to request his company to send
an expert to Savannah TO make an examl-
nation OF all the asphalt streets for the
purpose Of having the company make
bid for their maintenance in connection
with its bid for the paving of South Broad
street. Mr.. Alexander said that this would
be done.
In the course Of his remarks Capt. Cum
bingham alluded to the asphalt block
pavement in front Of the city exchange
and the length of time which it had lasted.
He said that he remembered when il was
laid and that IL had proven to be the best
piece of paving in the city. When bids
were asked for the paving of Broughton
street. he said, the company which laid
this piece Of pavement made a bid, and
its bid was accepted, but the company
found that it could not comply with the
requirements that the pavement should be
equal to that laid in front of the exchange
and forfeited its contract. Capt. Cunning
ham evidently did not know that the COM
pany which laid the small piece Of a paw
ing in front of the city exchange had put
in an appearance again with a request
for an opportunity to bid on the paving