The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1904-06-02

y ment 10r Detter rOaQS anu
8 ~ o the prospect of national
\ L aid in road building have
<o~ greatly stimulated the
study of the best methods Of road
building.
While to the general public the idea
of building permanent roads is to use
broken stone after the system first en-
ployed by John McAdam, about the
year 1855, other methods should be
carefully studied in order to build the
best and most durable roads at the
lowest cost.
1t seems a remarkable fact in view
of the great improvements in every
thing connected with modern life, that
we are still building our roads the
same way they were built over 100
years ago. This resulted from the uni
versal introduction of the railroad,
which caused the improvement Of
our common roads to be sadly neg
lected, as we'll as advancement in the
art Of building them.
A great obstacle in the way of build
ing durable roads of crushed stone is
found in the lack of suitable stone in
most localities where good road stone
IL found. In New York State, for in
stance, where road building has been
very active in recent years, stone has
been shipped over 800 miles in some
instances in order to obtain stone Of
good quality.
The lack of good road material has
caused careful study of various meth
ods Of road building by experts, with
the result that for general use mod
ification Of the old stone wheel track
or tramway roads, which have been in
constant use for over 100 years with
out material wear or cost, has been
highly commended. The old tramway
roads could only be built at reasona-
BILE cost in few localities having suit
able stone, but by substituting paving
brick for the stone slabs, this superior
form of road can be cheaply built in
every locality.
In fact, even in the favored localities,
where good road stone is abundant,
the use Of these brick wheel tracks
considerably decreases the first cost
of roads. while they practically do
away with all rev air expenses, as we'll
as the dust and mud, and at the same,
time enable three or four times the
load to be handled with the same team
force.
This improved method Of road build
ing has been adopted by number Of
localities and the cost has been found
to be from $1,000 to $500 mile, ac-
cording to the relative cost Of mate
rials, labor, etc, while the average cost
of crushed stone roads has been about
$4,000 a mile in New York, where the
greatest amount Of road building has
recently been done.
A section Of this brick track road
in the United States Department Of
Agriculture grounds during the last
four seasons shows no material wear,
and has been uniformly free from dust,
mud and ruts during that time. while
an adjacent section Of crushed stone
road has been nearly ruined during the
same time, partly by the washing Of
water.
For hilly roads these brick wheel
tracks are especially adapted, as by
depressing the tracks below the adja-
cent road surface the water is sue
cessfully carried down the hills on
them without the use of the objection
able water breaks, besides enabling
three times the grade to be used with
cut disadvantage.
Government road officials recon-
mend that long term convicts be en-
ployed in penitentiaries in making the
brick, cement, etc., for these roads,
and short term convicts be used in
making the roads, to the moral and
physical betterment of the conyicts,
and claim that in this way the build
ing of these superior and most durable
of roads should cost but $500 to $1,000
a mile in many localities. This makes
an interesting comparison with the
cost of $4,000 mile in New York State
for crushed stone roads, some Of which
have been nearly ruined by two or
three years of use, while wheel tracks
similar to the brick tracks, built Of
stone. near Albany, N. Y, in 1888, at
cost of $500 a mile, show very lit
tie wear in more than seventy years
of constant and heavy traffic.
If convicts were thus employed in
such penitentiaries as Sing Sing, New
York, for instance, where the best OF
brick clays could be delivered at very
low cost by boat, and from which the
brick, etc, could be cheaply shipped by
boat to nearly every point along the
proposed New York and Chicago road.
that road could probably be built for
less than one-fifth Of the cost Of build
ing it Of crushed stone, have three
times the smoothness and more than
ten times the durability Of crushed
stone road. and at the same time be
nearly dustless and mudleSS.
11r~