Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-08-10
BRICK LEADS ALL OTHERS.
Opinion of a Leading Authority on the
Good Roads Subject.

Good Roads Subject.
From The Daily Times.]
All persons interested in the proposed
paving In this city should read the fol-
lowing article which appeared in the l..
A, w. Bulletin and Good Roads, written
by Prof. T. O. Marvin of Lawrence,
Kan, and discussed at length in the
Journal of that city. After calling at
tention to the insufficiently recognized
fact that pavements do not support
loads, but distribute pressure over the
earth beneath, which is the real fOunda-
ton, and the consequent Importance OF
thoroughly compacting this foundation
by heavy rolling, he takes up different
kinds of pavement.
Macadam, he finds, can be laid on al
most any grade, brick on grades up to
five per cent, but asphalt only up to
three or four per cent. Asphalt is the
easiest to keep clean and is 'the most
sanitary of all pavements,' while
"macadam is dirty, dusty or muddy; is
hard to clean, and disagreeable if not
unsanitary. Brick ranks next to asphalt
for healthfulness."
Macadam he considers the least noisy.
With brick the noise comes from the
vehicle, and a rumbling may occur
where a concrete foundation is used
with cement between the bricks, owing
to the pavement having been slightly
raised by the temperature, but this is
absent with a sand foundation. With
asphalt the click of the horses shoes is
most noticeable
The maintenance of a macadam road
depends on constant renewal, for "any
depressions that will hold water will
cause wet, soft spots that rapidly be-
come worse under the pounding of the
traffic. If the surface does not shed,
the covering will not last long, and the
foundation becomes wet and weak.
Whether the renewal is made by little
patches, frequently applied, or by
large addition of broken stone at one
that in the long run makes this roadway
the most costly of all. Macadam is bet
ter adapted to long country roads I'M
broken by cross lines of dirt roads than
to city streets with short blocks and
numerous side streets. With the
best of construction this pavement will
always be unsatisfactory where adjacent
to dirt roads, always costly to maintain,
and calling for care and attention that
it will not get"
For asphalt a base of hydraulic
cement concrete is required. con this
is laid one and one-half inch course of
bituminous concrete, over which is
placed tWo-inch wearing course of as
phalt, we'll tamped and rolled" Or,
Gin place of these two upper layers
two and one-half or three inch layer of
natural rock asphalt can be used"
Brick pavements for heavy traffic re-
quire a concrete base like asphalt,
covered with two inches Of sand and
course of vitrifed brick placed edgewise
The joints may be filled with sand,
liquid asphalt or cement grout. An
other way is, after rolling the road-bed,
to put down and roll six inches of sand.
con this is laid fatwise course of
second quality brick covered with two
inches of sand. After rolling this, and
forming it's top to the required contour,
a course of first quality brick is laid
edgewise, with joints sand-flled. A
thin layer OF sand and final rolling
finishes the treatment"
The durability of the pavement is
materially affected by the character Of