Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-04
OIL AND TAR ON ROADS
EXPERIMENTS SOON TO BE MADE
IN THIS VICINITY.

Arrangements are about concluded be-
tween the War Department and the De-
partment Of Agriculture for some expert
ments with oil and tar on a section of
Washington roads. The work will be un-
der the direction Of the road office of the
Department of Agriculture and the War
Department will furnish the roads. Both oil
and tar will be tried. and probably mile of
each will be treated. The stretch used will
be either the dusty stretch of 18th street
below the War Department or part of the
Potomac boulevard or both.
Tho use of oil in road work is new In this
part of the country. so that the expert
ments will be watched with some interest
But there are other sections where the use
of oiled roads has been kept up for years.
and the practice has spread over most of
California, where the people are quite en-
thusiastdc over the results in the past eight
In 1888 in California, where petroleum Is
cheap, and was tried at first in limited
way on a stretch of about six miles, sim
ply to lay the dust, which was not only a
great nuisance in the loEg, rainless sum-
mers, but injured orchards and fields for
considerable distance on each side Of the
road.
Results Of oiling.
The result of oiling the roads. as soon
as the authorities got the right method.
was more than TO lay tho dust. 1t was
found that not only was the road dustless.
but that the oil became Incorporated with
the surface and made good binding crust
from one to three inches deep.
TIE roads stood wear and water well and
cut the unoiled macadam roads to pieces,
the oiled roads were found in as good con-
dition as ever. The practice In California
extended till now there are about 100 miles
Of roads and streets that have been oiled
for from one year upward.
The Department of Agriculture has just
received a preliminary report on some ex-
perimental stretches of oiled and tarred
road i'll Jackson, Tenn. This road has
been treated only seven months but the
results far have been very satisfactory.
The section treated with tar formed an al
most asphalt-like surface that has stood
the wear we'll SO far. has been water
proof and Is said to be pleasant to drive
over and easy ON the horses hoofs.
The oiled road in that section has been
almost equally satisfactory. The same sort
of experiments have been tried to a limited
extent in Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jer-
sey and other states, and the reports have
ben uniformly favorable where the work
has been properly done. The road has to
be cleaned and narrowed and well rolled,
and 1t is best to apply the tar or oil in
hot dry weather. The road has to be pro-
tected from traffic for from ten hours to
two days till the dressing has had time to
almost satisfactory a paved street.
Oil to Be Used.
The oil that will be used In the Washing
ton work is rather heavy oil, with an
asphaltum base. The tar is the same as
is used in ordinary paving. The tar, of
course, has to be applied hot but the oil
can be put on cold. One side of the road is
treated at a time and then roped off for
protection TIL the surface has
California is decidedly enthusiastic over
the success of her oiling work, which has
there passed beyond the experimental
stage. Washington will have the benefit
of her experience, too, as there were some
mistakes made in the earlier stages of the
work. and the oil made nasty mud that
injured clothes and everything else it
touched 1t has been found now that this
trouble does not exist If the road is not
used too soon, and even the damage that
it was feared might result to automobile
tires has proved myth. In fact it is
said that the tires show a longer life on
the oiled roads than they do where the
rubber is exposed to the sharp cutting grit
of the old macadam surface.