The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-03
From the Boston Globe.

From the Boston Globe.
 N USELESS roads would be a great VU blessing to all communities
 h> Some genius eventually will solve the problem of preventing dust from rising on roadways; meanwhile much apparently Is being accomplished toward that end dn several foreign coun- tries
 The European method of road treat ment to prevent dust is interesting to all municipalities. It appears that abroad there is the same complaint con- cerning dusty streets on account of auto- mobiles and motor wagons that there Is in America
 On the macadam roads in England the automobiles not only cause clouds of dust, but loosen the macadam by suc- tdon while heavy engines and motor wagons crush and destroy the surface smoothness of the roads. The result has been to increase heavily the expense of road maintenance and to exercise the ingenuity of county surveyors in devis- ing means of suppressing dust and con structing roads suited to modern traf- fic conditions.
 The Nottingham county surveyor, 1t is claimed, after experimenting for many years, believes he has solved the prob lems of both dust and durability This official Is said to have first tried tar washing, process now much talked about for roads, but found 1t only tenn porry palliative. The tar was chiefly absorbed by the joints of the paving and only partially adhered to the material, and after a few months a dust resulted which he considered worse than ordi nary soil dust. He next tried tarring slag, granite and limestone by the road side, but the heating of the material to a point necessary to make the tar ad- here made it brittle and not suitable for heavy traffic. and the process was, be- sides, very slow and a public nuisance.
 Determined to succeed, if possible, the experimenter them removed his appa- ratus to an iron foundry and tried hot slay taken from the furnace, the first at- tempt of the kind 1t is said. The exper- iment worked to a charm, and with the mixture of a toughening adjunct wa ter-proof road materil was created. This process has been patented Not only Is the former work of heating dispensed with, but the material is not brittle and being uniformly hot to the center it sucks in the tar. The process of artificial heating leaves the center of the mate rial relatively cold, and the reverse eff feet ensues. the tar being in degree rejected.
 This preparation Is styled 'tarmac," It Is applied to road without any dig gng or grading beyond mere leveling. Two layers are used, the lower 2A and the upper IA inches thick, Steam rolling reduces the thickness to 3 inches. flve-milo section of road between Noting ham and Radcliffe-a notoriously low bad gravel road-was used to test the prepa- ration This stretch of road is now said to be one of the finest In Engand- smooth as asphalt, mudless in wet wealth CT. in dry weather dustless, with ordi- nary traffic, and nearly so with the swift passage of automobiles. A tarmac" road is not asserted to be better than as- phalt for general use but it is claimed nHt to be slippery like asphalt when wet and is said to cost much less to lay-5arely a sixth as much, according to local experience.
 This road was made in parts at differ ent times. One section has been down for five years and other sections for two or three years. The traffic over the road is unusually great, particularly in auto mobiles, traction engines and the like, but seemingly without any injurious ef- feet, for no repairs have been needed. No rolling is required to keep the road in condition. The cost of the five miles of ~"tarmac' was s7300 per mile The cost of maintaining the road before tarmac was used was s146O per mile a year. This tarmac road is expected to last about ten years without expense for repairs. In Germany success is reported also with the .'goudronaage" treatment of roads to prevent dust. In this case 'goudronite." being preparation of tar.