Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-11-16
ROADS |
AND (
ROAD MAKING .&4ssla
oILhD ROADS IN CALIFORNIA.
The success Attained Should Lead
u. 70 Wore General Adoption.

tts ~ sBt*fF ~ ffHffth t*sPttVaf
The oiliag Of roads and streets in
california first began 70 attract par
ttfcuiar attention about seven years
200. Wheh netrolena oil Was used In
To- ANGELES Comfy. il q small way
iliaNas and more III 500 followed
b san Befharaiao Counts 3 1899,
yf8 writer IN Good Roads Maea-
'z{A.
=, Tire first use 81 on o. roads sad
fuf It's Object tho l3Wny o. Gasg
vGlich was alriost 0abeatabie during
.Ee'95ue arY swimmers 0f California.
~ Wase nsed"for this purpose instead
'of Battf: Sufficient 4EaG ties 81 the
aHten beihg difficult 10 obtain Ia
soine Sections; and II Was ihorght
f,lat the on would have q more last
iag efedt, aud so be more eifectual
ard economical for this purpose 1t
as fuund TO DO an excellent dust
isser Sll grades of oil were used
iroa high gravity, containing but q
small quantity ~ asphaltum. and
charged with water and sediment TO
heayy oil. free from water, and very
Yielr IN asphaltic base No attempt
WAS made in the beginning to obtain
a hard, smooth surface read. The
idea was 10 mix the oil with the nat
nral loose surface dirt OF the road in
Sufficient quantity 10 make II heavy,
50 that the dust would not rise. IL
was thought it would be a waste OF
material 10 use oil on loose. sandy
road. that it would simply sink Into
sand and disappear. and If used on a
hard surface like macadam II would
not penetrate but run into the gut
tiers. Even the parties who claimed
to be the discoyerers OF the use of oil
have patent on It's use (who have
never been able TO substantiate their
claimsl, said that there must be a
loose covering OF at least one inch In
depth on the road to mix with the
nil
one of the first things to be no.
ticed, was that the larger the per-
centage OF asphaltum In the oil. the
iirmer IL made the SURFACE OF the
road. and SO the better the results
Another was that II the oil was
worked In deep, especially In
fsciayeg soil It made a spongy roadbed
that was very heavy for hauling
over and that the oiled layer became
-ufied and ridged and very uneven.
There are miles of just such roads in
California to-day Transfers con
denim them. and they are very unsat-
isfactory. on account OF their UNI
evanness. for even light rigs 1t was
found that sandy and gravelly sur
faces absorbed the oil readily and
became very hard If a heavy asphalt
lie oil was used that even loose
daft sand, While it took large
quantity OF oil. put on In number
of applications. and considerable
time To set and harden. could be con-
verified into smooth. hard-surfaced
raadhsd But an absorbent. hard
rompacted gravel surface. 1t was
F"gnd. made an ideal oiled road.
when heavy aasphsltic liquid was
r us.'d. This Ted nap 10 the use OF this
ssind OF oil upon Inacadam roads, and
now We are building. what we call.
liquid asphalt" roads and streets:
giving careful attention to all de-
tails of carefully preparing the sub
q ada. putting down the crushed
: rock layers. fller, etc, and thor
oughiy compscting this base TO
hard, smooth, properly shaped sur
face, to receive the oiled or rather.
fasphsltic covering: and obtaining q
result that Is very similar TO the reg
ulation asphalt pavement; hard, but
not quite 80 hard and smooth as the
latter. but furnishing better foot
ing for the horse, \ surface that does
nor get slippery In wet weather.
surface that is slightly elastic. very
pleasant TO travel over, and which
efectually preserves the macadam
base below
The construction OF this "Asphal-
ted Macadam" road or street In
wolves the careful building of the
macadam base according to the most
approved specifications for this work.
attention being given to proper
drainage and 10 the browning OF the
surface.
1t must be remembered that this
base supports the load that goes over
IT, and that the super-imposed as
pha;tsd layer. Is OF comparatively
Shtn. slightly elastic. protective COW
airing THAI takes the surface wear