The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-10-17

wards need no other rolling or levehng
The finished road will be hard, smooth
dustless and proof against, water-dust-
less because it will not be subject to
abrasion, and proof against water be-
cause of the oil contained IN the com
position.
Roads of this kind can be constructed
from any kind of soil. Each kind of
soil, however, requires more or less Ia.
dividual attention. Some soils. for in
stance, will mix with oil better when a
little water is applied before the oil,
some viii stand absolutely no water
first, and some will work better when
nearly puddled with it. In all eases,
however, some water is necessary at
some stage of the work. It helps to
disseminate the oil, and it also helps the
packing of the road Then, too, some
soils can be worked to advantage with
harrows, some with cultivators, and
some with disk harrows or ploWs
While the ingredient is not absolute
" necessary, and many of California 8
oiled roads are made without it, road
ways of this kind can often be greatly
improved by the addition Of screened
rock, crushed rock, or even good gravel
The presence of such material in the
road bed gives it stability, durability
and prevents ruts and chucks. 1t helps
to Withstand the wear, resisting abra
sion more than earthly material.
The rock should vary in size from
pea size to pieces as large as d walnut,
should have angular edges, che fiat sur
faces to aid in keying, and the guam
tity should vary with the soil. For in
stance, adobe-like soil should have more
rock than more gritty soil, such as
disintegrated granite.
In regard to the oil, undoubtedly the
best kind is one without sediment, sui
phur, or any chemical which would tend
to make brittle the asphaltum contained
in the oil. In other words, the oil
should contain large percentage OF
asphaltum ana small percentage Of
lubricating oils. The ideal road oil, in
fact is 0ee which is made artifcially.
The crude oil that comes from a few
wells is satisfactory, containing the in
gradients in proper quantities, but the
manufactured oil can. always be relied
upon, therefore being generally consid-
cred the best.
The process OF making tamped oiled
road or petrolithic pavement of the very
best quality, as now adopted by Caljfor
MIA s leading street and road builders
may be briefly described as follows:
After the road is brought to bgrade
it is broken up with plows to a depth
of six or seven inches, the clods are
crushed and the surface is put in a thor
oughly pulverized condition. Oil is then
cd 4xr, l.
Ions to the square yard. TINS is thor.
oughly mixed by cultivation with the
pulverized soil, after which it is liberal
ly sprinkled with water Tamping, with
the tamping machine, now begins, and
is continued until only about two inches
of loose material remains on the surface.
Two or three inches of screened rock is
then spread evenly over the road, fol-
lowed by another coat of oil. amounting
this time to about one and one-half gaI-
Ions per square yard. This is thor
oughly mixed with the two inches of
loose material, and then the tamping is
resumed, continuing until the road IS
perfectly solid The surface meanwhile
is kept regular by road machines and
floats.
Many of the tamped oiled roads OF
California are made without the use Of
screened rock, and they have proved
very satisfactory. Screened rock, how /
ever, makes the roads much frmer and
more durable than are the ones made |
and therefore the extra cost |
IS considered well invested.
In regard to the building of such !
roads in the eastern and northern states, |
Mr.. Sutherland Hutton of Los Angeles, |
Cal. one of the most successful petro- |
ithic road builders in the West, says |
there is no reason why they should not |
De built anywhere in the United States; |
hat neither heat nor cold, no matter |
how severe, will affect such roads to /
The slightest extent, and that, because |
IF the OIL the roads are proof against |
water, as well as dustless. The road, |
however, must be made at some season |
when the soil is comparatively dry. The |
Jules of the process also must, of course, |
De intelligently observed, and the oil |
lsed must contain the ingredients in
proper proportions. When these points
are kept in mind and followed the |
-amped oiled road can be adopted by
'oad builders in any part of the world.
Roads of this kind have already been
gan, Louisiana, Florida, Cuba and Bra
Ill. The system, however, has not been
introduced to any great extent in any
If the localities except California.
The specifications in regard to the
quality of the oil usually made by the
Dad builders of California require that
he oil shall not contain more than
light per cent. of matter volatile, not
more than two per cent. of water and
sediment and not less than seventy per
cent. of asphaltum. The test to deter;
nine the percentage of these ingredients
5 made by subiecting the oil to diff
'erent degrees of heat:
The cost of constructing petrolithlc
'oads varies. In some localities il is
more than in others, owing to the prices
# oil, rock, labor, etc. In Southern
a fprDia iC r,CY,oIIIv 6rr,pa5 CT |