The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-08-30
How Europe Preserves Roads.

There Is lesson Tor our road
makers In the following from Farm
AMI Fireside:
We Americans have great deal
TO learn from Europe as 10 the max
ing and preservation OF roads. On
the other continent there is con-
stant solicitude for the public high
ways, which would perhaps surprise
most Americans. In England, for ex-
ample, the country roads are cared
for by the country council OF each
shire, an elective body numbering
about fifty. Our consul at Noting
ham. Rev. F.. w. Mahin. says OF the
care exercised by these bodies:
THE official in immediate charge
is the county surveyor, an appointive
officer. who serves during efficiency,
and is an expert engineer. All the
roads are macadamized. or similarly
treated, and for ordinary trafiic are
very satisfactory. In recent years au-
tomobiles and heavy traction engines
and motor wagons have created new
and serious problems. Automobiles
not only cause sitting clouds OF dust.
but loosen the macadam by suction,
while heavy engines and motor wa
gons crush and destroy the surface
smoothness OF the roads. The result
has been to heavily increase the ex-
pense OF road maintenance and TO ex-
ercise the ingenuity OF county sur.
VeyorS in deyising means OF suppress
ing dust, and constructing roads
suited TO present traffic conditions.
The Nottingham County surveyor,
after experimenting for many years.
has apparently solved the problems
of both dust and durability. Ten
years ago he tried tar washing, a
process now much talked about for
roads, but found 1t only temporary
palliative. The tar was chiefly alb
sorbed by the joints of the paving.
and only partially adhered to the ma
terial, and after "A few months a dust
resulted which he considered worse
than the ordinary soil dust. He
next tried tarring Stag, granite and
limestone by the roadside, but the
heating of the material TO n point
necessary to make the tar adhere
made it brittle and not suitable for
heavy traffic, and the process was, be-
sides, very slow and public nuis-
ance. He then removed his appara-
tus to an iron foundry and tried hot
Stag taken from the furnace, the first
attempt of the kind The expert
ment worked TO a charm, and with
the mixture OF "A toughening adjunct
a waterproof road material was cre-
ated. He has patented the process.
Not only is the former work OF heat
ing dispensed with, but the material
is not brittle, and being uniformly
hot to the centre IL sucks in the tar.
The process of artificial heating
leaves the centre OF the material rela-
sues, the tar being in degree re-
1ected. The preparation is styled
'tarmac.' IL Is applied TO road with
out any digging or grading beyond
mere leveling. Two layers are used =,
the lower two and one-fourtb. and the
upper one and one-fourth inches
thick. Steam rolling reduces the
IHlChneSS TO l0Gce lnCneS. n UVe-
mile section of road between Noting
ham and Radcliffe was used to test
the preparation. II lies near the
Trent River and canal, is below the
level OF both and has a gravel bed.
Consequently, water could seep
through upon II. II was a notorious
ly bad road. dusty in dry weather
and almost impassably muddy in wet;
at the same time, one OF the most inn
portant and most used roads in the
country. II therefore offered "A gu
preme test TO the efficacy of "A road
paving material. This stretch OF road
is now one OF the finest In England.
II is as smooth as asbhalt; mudless
in wet weather; In dry weather dust
less with ordinary traffic and nearly
so with the swift passage OF automo-
biles. A dry road absolutely dust
less when traversed by automobiles
is an utter imposslblllty. The tar
mac road Is impervious. Surface
water flows 10 the sides. and no dust
rs possible, except what is dropped
or blown upon It"