The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-14
NEEDS EXPLANATION
CEDAR BLOCK CONTRACTS LET AT
OUTRAGEOUS PRICES.
One Street to Cost seventy-Three
Cents More than Asphalt, and This
for a Much Inferior Pavement.


for block paycments at prices ranging from
43 cents to q cents higher than asphalt
pavement, guaranteed for nine years. would
cost. The contracts awarded were as fol-
lows: To the Hoosier Construction Com
pany, North street, from Meridian TO West
street. at $500; North street, from Fort
Wayne to Massachusetts avenue, 1919; ILL.,
nois street, from Seventh to Twelfth street,
N-55, and Illinois street. from Twelfth street
TO Fall creek, s6.91. The contract for paw
ing Michigan street, from Indiana avenue
TO East street, was awarded to Browder e.
Shower at $3.50. The Hoosier Construction
Company is said to be managed and owned
by A. G. Kenyon.
These contracts all call for red cedar or
cypress blocks soaked in creosote for six
hours. When these bids were received the
Western Paving and Supply Company sub
mitted bids on four OF the streets simply
for the purpose Of showing comparison
OF the price. 1t Is impossible to compare
prices except the bids compared be for the
same street, because OF the ever-varying
conditions, the amount of excavation, the
number OF sewer connections and catch
basins to be built etc. For this reason the
Western Company submitted bids on both
sections OF Illinois and North streets. The
bids as submitted by all companies are
given below. so comparisons can be made.
It will be seen that on the north section of
Illinois street the asphalt pavement. guar
anteed for nine years, could be built 70
cents q foot cheaper than the block pave
ment, guaranteed for seven years. which is
the term of the guaranty on all OF these
streets. The bids were as follows, there
being different price for the different
kinds of curbs.
North Street, Meridian to West-Western
Paving and supply Company, not creosoted,
S5l; asphalt, s6.56. Capitol Paving and
G Company q not scr ereoso IS So
der Shower. not creosoted. 1913, $6S;
creosoted Sss a fEseis sg
Company, not creosoted, $6.23 S613; creo-
soted. 500. 50. 80. Foley. not creosoted. $3.50,
North Street, Fort Fort WAYNE to Massachu
Compa ny. not creosoted. N.24; asphalt. 1928.
creosoted, S.2s. $40. Capitol Paving and
Construction Company, not creosoted. $3.50.
S.91, $3.50; creosoted. 1914 1910. sos. Hoos-
& s creoso SSnP s sss fndana
Bermudez Asphalt Company, not creosoted,
1858. %.4S; creosoted, N.S9, S.%. Foley.
49, sO5 cre0s0'ed' S'0' s"'O' cre0S0'ed' $751;
Illinois Street, Seventh to Twelfth-west-
s soa dPag and supply Sa@o a nqa aSS
Construction Company. not creosoted, 1854.
$3.50, sG.4s; creosoted. s7.42. s7.Ss. 1915. Brow
ess Shgzss p2 s fnasaa @
ereosoted. $40. SIS. Hoosler CONSTRUCTION
soted, SIS, @.45. e' '''''' s'
Illinois Street, Twelfth to Fall Creek
Western Paying and supply Company, not
Shower, not creosoted. s6.41, $3.50; creosoted,
G.2s. T46 Capitol Paving and Construction
Company n not 81 cssosotsd 'q oS $40 n
struction Company. not creosoted, $685.
S.s5; creosoted. sssl. $3.50. Indiana Ber-
S6.35, $3.50; creosoted, T.23 Sis
THE GALVESTON PAVEMENT.
The Board of Works has made a great
show of having desire TO put down block
pavements similar to those laid in Calves
ton, Tex. which are thought to be so good
The desire was so great that Mr.. Downing.
of the board. and City Controller Johnson
spent much Of the city's money in making
junketing trip to Galveston. They came
back and reported that pine blocks treated
with creosote by first extracting all sap by
heating vacuum process and then forcing
into the wood by a pressure of sixty pounds
to the inch twelve pounds of creosote TO
each cubic foot of wood, made street that
would last twenty-five years. This style of
mended by citizens of Galveston, but they
also found that the Galveston authorities
had entirely discarded the old process of
merely soaking the blocks in creosote, be-
cause 1t was found to be impossible TO make
the blocks absorb enough of the creosote to
do any good.
With all this information the board has
now let five contracts for cedar mot pine)
blocks to be merely soaked in creOsote, and
all this at price higher than an asphalt
Ing and Supply Company stands ready to
take the contracts at any time at the prices
named in the bids. which are from forty
three cents TO seventy-three cents less than
the price TO be paid for blocks.
The history of cedar blocks in this city has
been such as would condemn them for paw
ing purposes to most thinking people.
Meridian and Delaware streets were paved
several years ago with what was then
round cedar blocks. They soon became
rough, the only claim for merit being that
they were neither dusty nor noisy. Then in
with round blocks on concrete foundation.
1t Is now showing signs OF getting rough, al
though not as much as Is seen in the square
blocks OF North Meridian street, which have
been down only six months. The reason Is
that the round blocks do not fit so closely
room to expand without crowding and bulg-
ing up. On North Meridian street and or
Central avenue. although more apparent on
the former streets, the blocks have been
swollen by moisture and are now very un-
even. This is particularly noticeable to
those that ride bicycles. for there is nothing
that shows the roughness of street as
clearly as bicycle. Then there is the via
duct. which was paved three years ago this
summer ard by last fall was in such a de-
plorable condition that it had to be entirely
resurfacad.
The greatest claim made for the life of q
cedar block pavement, according to the
statements In possession of city engineer
Jeup, is five years IL not creosoted and fif-
teen years IL creosoted by the soaking pro-
cess. On these contracts let yesterday the
guarantee was cut from nine TO seven years
just why no one seems to know, unless IL
was that there Is so much danger OF the
pavements wearing out before that time that
the board did not want to bind friend too
closely.
While the greatest claim for the life of
such a street as 1t Is proposed to burd il
only fifteen years after having made the
ordinary repairs from year 10 year, it is
conceded that the life OF an asphalt street
with the same repairs. Is equally long and
the cost considerably less. Pennsylvania av-
enue. In Washington. was down eighteen
years before being resurfaced, and Ii was
laid at time when the process OF making
asphalt streets was still new and much ex-
perimenting required before II corId be
ascertained what proportions OF the different
materials should be used.
OBJECTIONS TO BLOCKS.
In an address short time ago Mr.. Barber.
OF the Barber Asphalt Company. said the
experience OF his company was that an as
phalt street of average width could be kept
g.