Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-10-06
Contractor Killmar Discusses I
Matter Of Great Interest to
Cities
TRUTHS ABOUT FOUNDATIONS
They Should Be Thicker in the Down
Town Districts Where Traffic Is
Heavy and Thinner in residence
Portion-Decrease in the Iron and
Steel Exports-Imports Increase.

while they are talking about putting
six inches instead of five of concrete
under the asphalt pavements.' said
Contractor John Kilmar, of the Barber
Asphalt company, yesterday, "the city
should take into consideration the GUS
tom it has been following for several
years of requiring the same thickness
OF foundation for streets paved down
town and in the suburbs. 1t has been
the same for Court Avenue and the bus
mess streets where the traffic is the
heaviest that it has been in the resi-
dence districts. If six inches are suffi-
cient foundation down town certainly
i, is too much for the suburbs. In this
way the property owners in the resi-
cence part of the city have been COM
PEELED to pay a larger price for their
paving than ives necessary.
Certainly there is economy in engi-
neering as well as in materials. We
have beeen wasting the money of prop
erty owners in the residence districts
or we have not been giving the down
town property owners the proper foun
cation for their payements. To deter
mine the question we should go to other
older cities. In most OF them we find
l think, that few foundations for any
pavements exceed six inches, while in
the residence portions of many cities
the foundation is frequently cut to as
low as four inches. A two-inch saving
for the residence streets of Des Moines
would have saved the property owners
a large sum of money
AS a matter of fact more depends on
the rolling of the street than on the
concrete. Most of the foundations in
Des Moines have been laid on ground
that has been rolled by horse rollers.
! submit that 1t is impossible to do the
work properly in this way. A depres-
sion in the ground surface is not rolled
more often than any other part of the
street and there are many other ways
II. which the ground of the street is not
leveled and packed by the light roller.
as well as it would be by the steam
roller. In asphalt paving the steam
roller is used. When depression is
found the roller is run back and forth
over it till it disappears when refilling
takes place. and when the work is fin
ished the street surface is perfect. Even
up to the curbing the ground is well
rolled. while a horse roller can not get
within three feet of it.
In my opinion this has as much to-
do with making a good foundation for
paving as the concrete. Four inches of
concrete on well-rolled street will
bear much more than a nine inch one
on a pOOrlV-rOlled street
AS to the frost question of which
there is SO much talk am sure that
the work of paving the East Des
Moines streets can be carried on sue
cessfully up to a late date this fall. "A
good day this fall is as good as good
day in the spring and worth more to the
wage earners. l have laid concrete in
this state up to Thanksgiving day. II
have put down Portland cement filler
curing the entire winter. In neitherI
case was there any trouble, whatever,
with the material. In fact as far as ce-
ment is concerned the cooler the wealth.
nr the better, just so there is no frost or |
freezing. When the cement sets slowly
t is better than when it sets quickly"