The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-30
BLOCKS FOR PAYING
The City Engineer and Two Alder
men Inspect Material in Helena
STYLES IN USE OVER THERE
Mr.. Biaokford Is Preparing an Ex-
hsustive Report to be Submit
ted to the Committee To-Day
Specimens from Europe.

CITY Engineer Blackford and Alder
men briggs and Knowfton of the paw.
ing committee returned yesterda,
from Helena. where they examined the
two styles of paving that are in use
IN that city. They were met by Mayor
Steele and II. b. Palmer, the paving
contractor. and report that every cour-
tesy was shown them and that the
pavement was torn up for them i'm
several places I'm order that they
might make their investigation as
thorough as possible.
Main and Grand streets in Helena
were paved in the spring of 1892 and
II was this pavement that was exam
ined by the committee. The paving is
composed of blocks of Montana fir
four inches wide, six inches deep and
from six to eleven inches long. On
Main street the blocks are set on a
foundation of six inches of broken
stone and sand and on Grand street
they are set on a foundation of two
inch plank. The blocks are laid in
lines across the street at right angles
20 the curb and the joints between the
rows which are from three-quarters of
an inch to an inch wide are filled and
rammed with fine gravel mixed with
an asphaBtic composition.
I'VE tore up the pavement in three
places on Main street" said Mr. Black
ford yesterday afternoon, land all of
the blocks which were removed with
one exception showed signs OF decay
for three inches from the bottom. The
pavement on Grand street, where the
foundation is of two inch planks, was
torn up in two places and there was
no indications of decay or deteriora-
ton in the blocks. All of the blocks
were sound on the surface. On parts
of the pavement where the traffic Is
the heaviest we found that the edges
of the blocks had worn away, which
produces a rather rough pavement
think that the wide joints are respon-
sible for this condition and that much
better results would be obtained from
a narrow joint and from blocks three
inches wide instead of four.
"A firm unyielding impervious foun-
dalton is requisite of a good pave
ment and concrete is the only material
that will fulfill these conditions A
concrete foundation would be perma-
nent, while a foundation of plank
would have to be renewed whenever
the pavement was renewed. n 1 think
the best results would be obtained
from a concrete pavement with blocks
three inches wide and laid in rows a
VI lnCl apart.
Mr.. Blackboard brought back a piece |
of the blocks which were taken up and |
which will be examined by the paving |
committee. Those which were laid on |
the foundation of broken rock with a |
top dressing of sand show. unmistaka-
BILE signs of decay for fully half their |
length, while those that were laid on |
the plank foundation are perfectly |
sound.
Mr.. Blackboard also has specimens Of |
block pavement which he brought back |
from London and Paris. He has |
piece of block pavement which had /
been down in High Halborn street in |
London for eight years and which /
shows no sign of decay. There is more /
traffic over High Halborn street In a /
day Mr.. Blackboard says, than there Is /
along Park street in a week. Norway |
pine is the material used for paving in /
London and the blocks are dipped in |
creoSote oil before being put down. |
Mr.. Blackboard is preparing an exhaus-
tive report on paving. which will be /
submitted to the paving committee to-
day.