The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-07-27

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FOUNDATION OF BROKEN BRICK.
lie highways. The national govern
ment has recognized the importance of
this subject and in the department Of
agriculture has established an Office Of
public road inquiry, of which Hon.
Martin Dodge, of Ohio, is director.
Limited appropriations have been
made to this Office to assist in building
object lesson" roads in different parts
of the country. Last summer an appli-
cation was made by the Ohio state I'M
verslty for an object lesson road to
be built upon its campus. The appli-
cation was granted and piece of road,
1886 feet long and 10 feet wide, has just
been completed. The piece Of road
chosen for this purpose lies south Of
TOwnshend hall and is an extension of
Neil avenue. It was the worst piece
Of road on the campus, being built
largely of cinders. All of the coal for
the central heating plant Of the uni
versity has been hauled over this road
for several years; the coal used for
this purpose each year amounts to TO-
600 tons and the hauling is done with
three and four-horse teams. hauling
from five to seven-ton loads.
One of the chief objects of the agri-
cultural department in building these
object lesson roads over the country
is to show the kind of road which can
be built with the material to be found
in the vicinity in which the road is
built. Mr.. Jay F. Brown, special agent
of the Office of public road inquiry, was
placed in charge of the work on the
university campus. After careful in
vestigation of the road material in the
vicinity of Columbus, he decided to
build the road of crushed granite field
boulders. Most of the macadam roads
about Columbus have been built from
the Columbus limestone, which is q
rather soft limestone and will not
stand the wear of heavy traffic. In the
summer it becomes dusty and in the
winter muddy, and ruts are soon cut
into such road.
The terms on which the government
cooperates in building these roads are
that the parties for whom the road is
built shall furnish the material and
common labor, and the government
furnishes the machinery and skilled
labor. The road on the university cam
pus was built as follows:
It was excavated nine inches deep
and 1S feet wide and the grade. which
was ~ per cent. in the steepest part,
was cut to four per cent. It was then
filled in four inches with broken brick
and stone from the remains of the
chemical building, which was burned
on the university campus last winter.
This was packed down with q 13-ton
road roller. Upon this was placed five
inches of crushed. granite boulders,
crushed in three different grades with
a stone crusher. The largest size of
these crushed boulders would pass
through ring two and a half to three
inches in diameter. These were packed
down with the road roller and then
covered with sand to fill the crevices,
and again rolled.
Upon this was placed the second
grade of crushed boulders, which ran
from one inch to one and half inches
In diameter. This was sprinkled with
q street sprinkler and again rolled and
then the finest grade, none of which
was over one-half inch in diameter.
was used for surfacing, and after being
sprinkled and rolled, made a hard.
smooth surface. It took 485 tons of
crushed boulders to build $50 feet of
road, and the balance of the road, IS
feet, was built of limestone so rs to
give a comparative test of the two ma
terials side by side in the same road.
It cost $3.50 per ton for these crushed
boulders delivered from the stone
crusher, on the road. The entire cost
Of the 1876 feet was $1,625, or 81 cents
per square yard. Where the supply of
boulders is more plentiful, Of course
the road could be built much cheaper.
as the largest expense was in the cost
Of the boulders. The road was built
under the supervision of George l.
Cooley, Of the department of agricul-
ture, and is one Of the few model roads
which have been built in Ohio.-H. G..
Price, dean Of the Ohio College Of Agri.
culture.