The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1906-07-04
WEDNESDAY. JULY a. 1906
IMPROVING STREETS
HOW A MACADAM ROAD CAN BE
CONSTRUCTED.
Though Expensive to Maintain, 1t Is
Much Cheaper In First COst-VaIue
of Stone Curbs - When Cutters
should be Laid.

of Stone Curbs when Cutters
should be Laid.
Towns and villages with any regard
10 SightlineSS and cleanliness in the
streets must cover them with some
class of pavement. and one of the most
i'll favor is macadam. This pavement.
though expensive to maintain. is much
the cheaper in first cost. writes T. S.
Axholm, civil engineer. in Good Roads
Magazine
There is no doubt that many mac
adam roads are built more extensively
than the traffic to be accommodated
warrants. Good looking and expensive
macadam roads have frequently been
built which have lasted but one year.
owing to an imperfect knowledge of
the character of the soil and drainage
conditions by the engineer in charge.
Then. again. surprisingly thin mac
adam roads have been built with high
crowns. deep side bitches and proper
culverts and underdrains which have
accommodated all the traffic demands
and have lasted for years with season.
able repairs. In the business portions
Of the village at least some sort Of
stone curb and gutter should be used
to make finish to the roadway, carry
storm water and protect the sidewalks.
CurbstoneS should be twenty inches i'll
depth if possible. even if only roughly
quarry dressed as cutters where no
sewers exist must of necessity he eight
or nine inches in depth, and unless
more curbstone is below the gutter
than above it the curb will be gradual
~ lifted by frost and forced over by
the weight of the sidewalk behind it.
The cutters in too many of our VII
lagos and towns are paved with cob
bles. most vicious practice and one
often entailing such serious damage to
the contiguous pavement that the cost
of repairs in one year equals the addi
tional cost of some form of cut blocks.
Irregular shaped split stones. with
smooth face up and greatest dimension
in the depth, make II very good cheap
gutter and far superior to cobble pave
ment. whose extreme rOughnesS forces
the water during storms out on to the
macadam with disastrous results. Gut
terra Of this description should be four
feet ia width Instead Of three feet,
which is usual. aud should rise from
ihe gutter five inches. The macadam
pavement should rise to the center of
crown ut the rate Of One-half an inch
per foot "a little more on steep grades,.
the cross section being the are of
circle. II the ground IL firm and on IA
good grade. four and half inches Of
finished macadam road may be built in
the following manner:
Shape subgrade carefully four and
One-half inches below crown proper
TONED AS above. Roll until solid with |
the heaviest roller obtainable. not less |
than three tons. Cover with five inches |
of broken stone which will all pass
through one and 0ne-half inch ring |
and graded in size to three-quarters Of !
an inch. Roll dry until firm and all I
the stones have settled into place. Coy |
er with one and one-half inches Of
screenings containing about % per |
cent of the -four and roll dry. after
ward Sprinkling with water literally |
in front Of the roller until the surface |
becomes hard and sets like cement. |
The road should be allowed TO dry out |
before using and gone over carefully |
for few days, placing screenings
where the heavier stone has broken |
through until the whole surface is well |
bonded.
No cutters should be laid until after
the macadam is finished CurbS should |
be dropped for sidewalk crossings is
two inches above gutter level. No
pipes or gutter bridges should be per-
mitted. us they are responsible for one
half the damage TO macadam pave
ment in village streets. Ii absolutely
necessary, owing to height of sidewalk.
twelve itch IRON piae~ set 80 low that