Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1904-08-06
ROAD IMPROVEMENT.
GOOD HIGHWAYS AND METHODS OF
BUILDING THEM.
Construction of Brick Track Roads
Ommended-Their Cost and Du-
neutrality-suspicious. Of COnvicts
In Highway Building.

"thh Va
In Highway Building.
The present general movement for
better roads and the prospect of ma
tional aid in road building have greatly
stimulated the study of the best meth
DDS of road building.
While to the general public the idea
of building permanent roads is to use
broken stone, after the system first
employed by John Macadam about the
year 1885, other methods should be
carefully studied in order to build the
best and most durable roads ut 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, says the Waynesboro Pa.)
Herald. This resulted from the uni
versal introduction Of the railroad,
which caused the improvement Of our
common roads to be sadly neglected as
well as advancement in the art Of
building them.
|
ing durable roads of crushed stone Is
found In the lack Of suitable stone in
most localities where good road stone
is 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
DDS of road building by experts, with
the result that for general use a mod
ification OF the old stone wheel track
or tramway roads, which have been in
constant use for over q hundred years
without material wear or cost, has
been highly recommended. The old
tramway roads could only be built at
reasonable cost in few localities hav-
ing suitable 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 consid-
ernbly decreases the first cost of roads,
while they practically do away with all
repair expenses as well as the dust and
mud and at the same time enable three
to four times the load to be hauled
with the same team force.
This improved method Of road build
ing has been adopted in a number of
localities and the cost has been found
to be from $1,000 to $500 q mile, ac-
cordlng to the relative cost Of ma
terinls, labor, etc, while the average
cost OF crushed stone roads has been
about $4,000 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 agri-
culture 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
uuupNCOy no "
depressing the tracks below the I'D
jacent road surface the water is sue
cessfully carried down the hills on
them without washing the roadway
and without the use of the objection
able water breaks, besides enabling
three times the grade to be used with
out disadvantage.
Government road officials recommend
that long term convicts be employed in
penitentiaries in making the brick, ce
ment. etc. for these roads, and short
term convicts be used In making the
roads. to the moral and physical bet
terment of the convictS and claim that
in this way the building Of these supe-
rior 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 q
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 AL
bany. n. Y, in 1888, at a cost of 81 800
mile, show very little wear in moro
than seventy years Of constant and
heavy traffic.
If convicts were thus employed in
such penltentiaries 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 ne-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.
Brick made at Sing Sing could also
be cheaply delivered at all points in
New York state and also be shipped to
all points along Lake Erie by boat
thus enabling the greater part Of the
proposed New York and Chicago road
to be built by this superior system and
at cost so low as to be Insignificant
when compared with its substantial
and lasting benefits.
when We Have Good Roads.