The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-07-04
DustIess Highways.


lem OF preventing dust from rising
on roadways; meanwhile much ap-
parently is being accomplished to-
ward that and in several foreign
countries.
The European method of road
treatment to prevent dust Is inter.
esting to all municipalities. IL an
pears that abroad there is the same
complaint concerning dusty streets
on account of automobiles and mo-
tor wagons that there is in America.
On the macadam roads in England
the automobiles not only cause
clouds of dust, but loosen the ma
cadam by suction, while heavy en-
gines 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 in
genuity of county surveyors in de-
vising means of suppressing dust
and constructing roads suited to
modern traffic conditions.
The Nottingham county surveyor.
1t is claimed, after experimenting
for many years, believes he has
solved the problems OF both dust and
durability. This Official is said to
have first tried tar washing, a pro-
cess now much talked about for
roads, but found it only tempo
rary palliative. The tar was chiefly
absorbed by the joints of the paw
ing and only partially adhered to
the material, and after few
months a dust resulted which he
considered worse than ordinary soil
dust. He next tried tarring Stag,
granite and limestone by the road
side, but the heating of the material
to point necessary to make the tar
adhere made 1t brittle and not suit
able for heavy traffic, and the pro-
cess was, besides, very slow and a
public nuisance.
Determined to succeed, II possible,
the eXperimenter then removed his
apparatus to an iron foundry and
tried hot Stag taken from the fur
mace, the first attempt of the kind,
it is said The experiment worked
to charm, and with the mixture of
toughening adjunct a waterproof
road material was created. This
process has been patented. Not
only is the former work of heat
ing dispensed with, but the material
is not brittle, and being uniformly
hot to the centre 1t sucks in the tar.
The process of artificial heating
leaves the centre of the material
a fha
feet ensues, the tar being in degree
rejected.
This preparation is styled tar
mac" 1t is applied to a road with
out any digging or grading beyond
mere leveling. Two layers are used,
the lower two and quarter and
the upper one and three-quarters
inches thick. Steam rolling reduces
the thickness to three inches. A
five-mile section of road between
Nottingham and Radcliffe no.
toriously low bad gravel road-was
used to test the preparation This
stretch of road Is now said to be
one of the finest in England-smooth
as asphalt, mudless in wet weather.
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 asphalt for general use.
but it is claimed not to be slippery
like asphalt when wet, and is said
to cost much less to lay--barely
sixth as much, according to local ex-
perience.
This road was made in parts at
different times. One section has been
down for five years and other sec
tions for two or three years. The
traffic over the road is unusually
great, particularly in automobiles,
traction engines and the like. but
seemingly without any injurious eff
feet, for no repairs have been need
ed. No rolling is required to keep
the road in condition. The cost Of
the FIVE miles of 'tarmac" was $1,000
per mile. The cost of maintaining
the road before tarmacl was used was
$1460 per mile year. This tarmac
road is expected to last about ten
years without expense for repairs.
In Germany success is reported
also with the "goudronnage" treat
ment of roads to prevent dust. In
this case 'goudronite," being
preparation of tar, petroleum and
sand, is applied to the roadbed much
after the manner of 'tarmac. -
Boston Globe.