The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-03-10
AS TO ASPHALT REPAIRS.

Sir:-I regret to see in your issue of
the Sth inst, under the cart heading Of
"Plan Not Feasible the entire question
of the city doing its own asphalt repair
ing sent to the final retreat of all fool ell
forts. A few figures Will show the mpor
tanCe of determination to solve a prob
| lem that Is becoming daily more serious.
We have at present out of guarantee 2l6,-
600 yards of pave involving an annual
! contract cost for repairs of %LSG6OO at .
cents per yard. In four years time this
annual cost will increase to $lO,SlS.OO but
| experts put the life of an asphalt pave
at fourteen years and before four years
are over there will be added the expense
of rosurfacing at I.25 per yard, at least
| One-fourteenth of our present yardage,
| equal to $l9.2S5GO. making total cost in
/ 1900 of $50. lO3O 90 for the maintenance alone
| of our present asphalt paVements and
| that amount will large increase yearly.
-;|I:-
1t is urged as a conclusive reason
/ against city ownership that no city owns
| its own plant, but it seems to me that
| this argument should have no weight If
| the figures show that it would be an
| economy. The plant brought here by
/ Dunn Bros. is valued at about $1,000,
| and is capable of laying 600 yards a day.
/ In that price is included the cost of the
| railroad cars and steam boilers. The city
! has boiler power sufficient at the Crusher
| already and 1t would seem as If the
! driers and mixers necessary for hun
| dred yards "a day plant should be put in
| for $500 or less. If this city was pri-
| vate coruoration an exuert mechanical
| .ngineer ,vouId ha ot once unt to work to
! design the necessary machinery and the
! contracts would be let (by the way, here
! is a valuable hint to Fiuch's or the Dick
| son works, for whoever will design and
! build asphalting machines of small size
viii find a bier demand at once) As TO
| the avort prntit I'm DOING. our own reuair-
/ ing I nave of roursa no definite dnta
and can only draw inferences The old
| prira or lni1 asnhalt WAS SD "a nor ward.
| tba L,tast hia v,ao 81 h5 mo nsi,al r.,,,r
face hid. If my memory is correct was
81 u ne, ward As there has been no
| change in the cost of concrete If is fan,
| to infar that tha IN cents rndurtion n,
| ,ri,,.. is a., tho ,srbolt ana tbat n .nn IA,
res,rfacad at - nrnit at m csnte nor.
yard If this 10 trua tbn citv has n,,ita
a margin for saving
-.u.-
II &c further. uread AGAINST tbo scbanoa
that 81 number of sLilled mon rn,1st La
amnIoved Tbis barlIv see,ns 70 M, ,,nr-
| assarv bacouso fn,. a lor,, ti,,,, ~, ,,,at,,
| vo,,l, ,vilI ha tho 6IIing oT email bo,as In
the nave where total failure vo,,,d not Ln
| a sa,io,,s notte, ana a,,,a,,a,'', n,r,,II
| rertainIv hrinp sl,ilI rha er,rIoyas in
| ,bis d,nart,1a',t nn,,ld DO ~, ,,,,,l,,,,
! orn,lo,,.s in mo da,,rtr,.,,+ o,d ,ha,,
| NOT u,orl,in,r o,, os,,bult straa+s ,,,,Il he
| nn,,In,,sI aisa,,bart ,, ,,,,,ol nj, l, t,o
| axnarso yorld srarc,,I,. sbn,,, tn ~ 49,,
| ,,a,. roll hrt m, axtr, en,,tra oart,t,ty,
| ttr,,,ll for ,b ,s,,htt ,,,,, ,,i ,,
,s,,,' ta,oii ,,'dp,. 80, ''',,i 'o
| skilled man IN tbo ,it, ,betb,, ',,,,,,,t,i, o.
| a.. not 'nnI nr ,a,,,s, ,htn s,i,,i ~ 80
! rbarged In tbn ,,nrl, Anntb.,, ad,,antaaa