The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1907-08-27
SCIENTIFIC
ROADMAKING
They Do the Work Much Better
in England than we IN
the United States.
AIN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION
TARBET Moron, LoCH LoMoND,
Scotland, August u, 1907

IARBbI NOlCH, 1OCH 1OMOND:
Scotland, August II, 1907.
EDITOR OF THE CHRONICLE:
Dear Sir A copy Of THE CHRoNI-
Gle which has followed me to Scot
land contains letter written to the
New York Sun about !" Roads in New
jersey" with your comments upon it,
and it has occurred to me that few
words about the English roads might
be interesting. The letter says the
roads in New Jersey are very poor eX-
cepting those in towns, and especially
the main street of Morristown; and
you suggest that the traffic has become
to heavy for the present pavement and
that it may soon be necessary to pave
South street with brick or wood.
Brick is noisy and is slippery in win
ter If a block pavement must be laid,
there is no doubt that wood is the
most desirable. 1t is smooth and not
too hard 1t is elastic to the tread
and is not noisy. 1t is expensive, how
ever, for if it is to be made durable it
must be very well made and carefully
laid on a foundation of concrete, or
something of that sort. All London is
paved with it and the wood is brought
all the way from Australia. The pave
ment stands the heavy traffic, and it is
so smooth that omnibuses are used in
stead Of electric cars.
In smaller towns, however, the Tel
ford pavement is generally used, and
it stands very well heavier traffic than
that of Morristown. The pavement,
whether in the city streets or country
roads, is very different from ours and
mitch more thoroughly built. The
English have the advantage of having
a much narrower surface to pave both
in the towns and in the country. The
streets and roads are narrow and they
can afford to pave them well-and they
make good pavementS and keep them
in order. The ground is prepared by
understanding There is foundation
Of concrete; then large stones set on
edge and then the cracked stones, and
these are very heavily rolled and the
binder is not of clay, but limestone or
gravel and sharp sand. The cracked
stones are very near the surface and
are not covered with crushed stone,
but are rolled till they lie fiat and
then, | think, they are overlaid with a
thin cement, and some of them are
coated with oil or tar. | do not know
exactly what the process is, but the
result is very hard, smooth road with
little dust and free from mud, SO that
you can walk on it in wet weather
without soiling your boots. Such a
pavement will stand heavy traffic and
last long time, and is very pleasant
to drive upon. Both the streets and
the country roads are kept always in
| repair and if there is hole worn in a
city street large piece of the pave
ment is taken out from the foundation
upward and replaced with new. All
this may be expensive, but it is worth
while, and saves wear and tear on wag-
oBs and makes traffic easy and cheap.
There are other advantages in having
the country roads narrow they are
kept in order from hedge TO hedge ;
there is no untidy waste land and the
farmers have so much the more land
| for cultivation.
Our own roads were laid out sixty
six feet, | think it is, in width be-
cause the width was reserved in the
original grants by the Proprietors of
New Jersey but it was not from Eng
land that they got the idea of broad
| roads, unless indeed it was from the
| Midlands, where the roads are wide
and straight. There are roads in Sus-
sex that are scarcely wide enough for
two vehicles of any kind, let alone mo-
tors, to pass each other, and they have
frequent turns at right angles as they
run between the farms. They are
we'll paved from side to side and have
high hedge or banks of earth on
either side. Driving through them in
motor is rather exciting for you can
not tell except by the ear whether any
thing is coming toward you around the
corner A motor in which / was rid
ing was completely blocked by small
herd of cattle. One of the cows put
herself croSSwise of the road and nei-
ther herd nor motor could proceed un-
Til the motor had drawn backward and
the COW had been turned around.
AS general thing. however, the.
roads all over England are very good
for motoring, and not high roads only,
but by-roads in every direction and
roads over the mountains, and the
travel by motor, especially in the va
cation season, has become enormous.
All the hotels in the country towns are
invaded at all hours by parties of wom-
en- in wells and men in caps and tweed
overcOatS.
EDWARD @. KEAsBEY.