Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1907-01-22
COAL TAR MACADAM.
Its Dement'S as Substance for Street
Improvement

Mayor Duncan has called a meeting,
to be held in the city hall next Thurs
day evening, for the purpose OF allow
ing property owners along Third street,
who have property abutting that por-
ton of the street which is paved with
cedar blocks, to give an expression OF
opinion as to their choice in the matter
of repairing that portion of the street.
The street is paved from Forest to
Grant street and the blocks are so worn
out that they must be replaced soon
with some other material. Before any
action is taken in the matter by the
council it is the desire to hear from the
property owners and let them discuss
the matter among themselves. A spec
ial committee appointed at the last
meeting of the council to determine the
cost of tar macadam, its merits, etc.,
and the board of public works will be
present and the members of each will
inform the property owners of the re-
suit of their investigation.
Believing that anything pertaining to
the merits or dement's of any paving or
macadamizing substance, will be of in
terest to the tax payers, the PILOT begs
leave to publish two clippings we have
culed from our exchanges relative to
coal tar macadam. The opinions cited
herein may have been gathered by a
prejudiced person, but nevertheless
they are of interest. Here they are:
The use of coal-tar pavements is con-
demned by the majority of paving ex-
perts and cities in the United States.
The bitter experience of the city of
Cleveland with tar pavements is well
known, and in many places it has been
difficult to explain their true character
on account of the use of the word
"bituminous" in describing their COM
position. Coal-tar is not "bitumen."
A pamphlet published by the Associa-
ton of Engineering societies on the
Cleveland, o., pavements contains the
following: "Scme of the best varieties
of coal-tar pavements were tried in that
city, but resulted unsatisfactory, for
the reason stated, and required exten-
sive yearly repairs. Where the founda-
tions were good, new resurfacing
with genuine asphaltum was recon-
mended'
In a report of the special committee
from the common council of the city of
Utica, N. Y, there is the following
clause: 1.-THE idea of tar or bitumin-
Gus cement is not a new one; it has been
experimental with in this connection
for many years, but has never hereto
fore proved successful for the reason
that life has gone out of the cement
usually in less than three years. If the
problem has beer solved in this cement,
it is most important discovery, but it
will require some years of time to
demonstrate the fact beyond doubt"
The board of commissioners appointed
in the city of Washington, d. c., to in
vestigate the various pavements re-
ported, that ID determining the class
of pavements TO be used hereafter, each
class OF pavement must prove its quail
ties under the test of actual traffic be-
fore being extensively laid upon the
streets of the city of Washington.
Wherever laid in the United States,
coal-tar pavements have given little
satisfaction. While some of the later
and better class of coal-tar pavements
show good surface and give fair promise
of reasonable durability, yet the
general condition of this class of pave
ments in the city is such as to lead to
their condemnation as faulty in princi-
pie and deficient in vitality"