The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-06-22
ROAD BUILDING
Article Contributed by J. II. Livingston Re
sardine Road Construction


example OF model highway construct
ion o ! North street, allow me to sug-
gest that although this work with pro-
per care will last for good many
years, Notwithstanding the destructive
work of the gas company the burst
water pipe that necessitated its digging
up at one point and improper restor-
alton, and in spite of the enormous
traffic over it, il VII never be smooth,
owing to the varying dog e.s of hard.
ness of the material OF which it is con
structed
The gravel bank from which this
material was taken is the product of
the glacial prild. The stones were
gathered at many points and conveyed
from great dist Inces. Rocks that
are not indigenous to this section of
the country, nor to any one section,
are to be founl deposited side by side.
Some are like rotten stone, while
others are like ilut. We find quartz
and talcose schisL quali2ite and mica
schist, quartzose and gnei,s, rock for
nations very unlike aud hslonEi - To
different geologic periods. We find
also blue, red, black, whit, mottled
and yarigated marbles, or limestone
some If which are araganitc and
others calcitic, some even double car
Donated, ike dolomite. We lind the
coarsest OF gravels and finest OF sands
some fine enough to polish silver with
1t will be seen, therefore, that road
constructed of crushed screenings
from a gravel pit will be pitted, the
softer stone wearing out sooner than
the harder. Still most excellent hold
is given to horseshoe calks on such
roads, and heree are never slippery.
While speaking OF gravel banks, per
haps ii would be we'll to say that we
have but two that are really worth
while so far discovered in town. one
owned by j. II. Loring & Co. ard
the other by DR. Pike. The latter, how
ever, is overlaid with such thick
body OF clay as to make it expensive
to work. Under this body of clay,
and above the gravel deposit, is found
q cemented material that is valuable
for road construction. The matrix was
originally clay, in which was mixed a
coarse limestone gravel The lime
dissolving and mixing with the clay
produced, through countless ages,
cement that when ground will recement
Hydraulic cement is made of 10 per
cent OF limestone and % per cent of
clay. This cement matrix, however
vas formed 10 reversed ratio, but
only through the lapse OF ages. Pleas
ant street, from North street to the
ear entrance of the opera house, was
built of this material. | recently wash
ed OIL section in front of my office
with hand hose, and found the sur
face OF the street cemented like solid
rock.
1t is an axiom among road builders
that gravel that will not stand upright
in the bank is not tit for highway con
structiOp. Gravel that slides down
easily carries too much sand or loan
" possibly hardpan at least, ma
erial other than grit that binds dawn
and wears we'll. A spoonful OF gravel
in glass of water should dlscolor the
water slightly This is test for
soluble matter. See, however, that
the gravel is made up OF angula"
stones rather than spherical, angular
stones, not above an inch in diameter.
are we'll adapted for road construct
ion. All stones larger than an inch
must be broken up. The stones of
river gravels, and especially those
from the Roaring Branch, are round
ed in outlines and will not form an in
terloeked mass when placed in a road
Such gravels are bit only for foot paths
or private drives for light carriages
have spoken OF gravels at some
length, because many OF our streets for
the present must be built OF this ma
terial. II would hardly pay to macad-
amize other than our chief thorough
fares.
There is a cheaper way of handling
what will call our dirt streets, how
ever, than crawling, because we can.
not afford even gravel on all of them
My method is to spike up, crown up
and roll down with the steam roller all
dirt streets other than clay. This
should be done early in the spring
when the soil is in II friable condition.
On an average h. II mile of streets
a day could be so treated, and they
would remain in splendid condition
all the rest of the year possibly for
two seasons. III any OF the streets so
treated are afterwards to be graveled i,
hall the material required on an un
even street would be sufficient. The
clay streets | would treat with sand.
1t has been found that about one half
sand we'll Incorporated with the sur
face of clay road properly graded
and crowned will make an excellent
thproughfare. while about one. fourth
clay we'll incorporated with a sand
road will D.. ing about like results.
1t Is great mistake to place