The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-04-08

it would seem, at arst Thought, That
Mayor Claudius had been especially
fortunate in his selection of the Com
smittees on paving and that they were
better skilled in the work of road
building than the committee selected
by President Merrill Of the Minneap-
oils council, or any council president,
missioner selected for hisspecial .knowl-
edge Of maintaining things-if moth
ing more than himself in office. ~.
But the truth might as well be told
about the Appian way even if it does
lower it bit among the great engineer
ing works of the earlier builders.
Counted in days labor, slave labor hav-
ing been largely used in it's building, it
required the continuous labor Of twenty
build single mile. This ought to
bring relief to the present-day taxpayer
because no considerable number of
Fshigh' ways, Ia Appius Claudius,
need to be built in his district.
Again, the builders Of this old Roman
| way had no conception Of the true
principle of a broken stone road. They
kept as far from the broken stones
idea as possible, putting In only such
them to handle.
The Appian way was only a masonry
wall built horizontal instead of verti-
! CAL 1t received none of the grinding
| action Of metal, which really measures
the life of any road or street surfacing
material. ......-a a. So :
The average Minneapolis business
street doubtless is subjected to more de.
structive action during the course of a
week than the Appian Way received In
hundred years.
Road Science Is Modern. .,
Road building is strictly modern
science, SO far as it has been reduced to
4 science. AS an art it was practiced
by earlier people, largely for military
use, but the product was clumsy and
costly. .,..,ses ...., y .
. During the last century it has been
gradually changing from mere imita
tive art to an applied science. It began
about the middle Of the eighteenth cen
tury upon the discovery of the rece
menting power Of finely divided stone
In France the work was carried forward
under the direction Of the Emperor M
poleon. -
At about the same time Macadam anc
Telford were giving to England stone
roads, representing two distinct styles
which are known to this day as macad
am or! telford road according as Thu
| foundation layer Of stone is Of small Of
!; large stone.
Laboratory Tests for Road Material.
, For nearly hundred years after TIT
J basic principle Of stone road construc
r ton was appreciated by these road en-
gineers in France and England, the only
, test Of the value of road material wa
its actual use on piece Of road O
street thruout term of years.
Tn 1QEE EHrannn hor2n an o1ahoraf
, series of actual road service tests Of
macadam roads. These tests were un
dertaken to determine the actual wear
ing qualities Of different kinds Of avail
l able stone. Observations were take
Oh about half million cross-section
of important highways, covering 1900
miles of French roads.
A careful census was kept Of tn
traffic and accurate levels taken t
$ show how much the surface had bee
worn off by the action Of the traffic
This field test extended over quar-
, ter Of a century and cost enough
/ have fully equipped the most moder
! read material laboratory, to have COZ
? Quoted the most exhaustive tests on a.
the different kinds of stone on til
: road, and had fund remaining suff
II .cient to perpetuauY care fol. all 81
penses of such laboratory.
: Actual field tests are not only e,
: Ipensive in money outlay, but also i
: time, which is not infrequently as del
!. rimantal to road projects as The neee
a less use Of money. Perhaps the mos
= serious difficulty attending these Sc
!, Iviee tests is the inability to recogniz
!, : or to give due weight to the wide rang
5 of attendant conditions outside of tt
4 surface material itself. Such, for il
+ stance, as climate, nature of found;
). ton as to sta iitys and water, traffi,
Il winds, drainage; etc. These servic
s ssss WIDE range ans o o qaa sefa