Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-11-23

that the creosoted wood blocks come
closer to their conception of an ideal
street pavement than anything that
has yet been invented or discover
ed.
. Experiments covering a period of
seventy-three years and two conti-
nents, show that any first-class struc-
tural timber produces good paving
material. Douglas fir being the best
structural timbers, it therefore seems
particularly unreasonable that cities
located in this great fir producing ter
ritory should be annually expending
millions Of dollars on paving materi-
ais admittedly inferior and undoubt-
eddy more costly, all things taken in
to consideration.
Is Success in Everett.
Everett is one of the few cities
that has not overlooked the oppor-
tunity Of its tributary natural paw
ing resources. Hewitt avenue was
paved with creosoted fir blocks two
years ago. This street has a contin-
ual heavy traffic, and yet in two
years of hard service the fir block
paving shows absolutely no signs of
wear. Recently certain portions of
the street were removed for the pur-
pose of connecting sewers, and the
blocks were found to be in exactly the
same condition as when they were
put in. William E. Sutton, the city
engineer of Everett, says it is his
opinion that this paving will not
show a wear of three-eighths of an
inch after it has been down ten years.
The Rush street bridge in Chicago
carries traffic as heavy as that pas
sing over almost any thoroughfare
in the United States. The bridge has
two twenty-foot roadways paved with
wood blocks. One side is creosoted
and the other untreated. The paving
was laid in 1899. The creosoted side
is still in good condition though the
uncreosoted side had to be renewed
H. 1902.
The explanation of these facts lies
in the anti-septic qualities of the
creosote and its physical action in
filling the pores of the wood and de-
creasing its absorption of water.
Every pavement is wet a large part
of the time and wood when saturat-
ed with water, has generally less
than 40 per cent of it's kiln-dried
strength. The creosoting treatment,
by lessening the absorption of water,
maintains the strength at much
nearer the drywood value, and there
by increases the actual service
strength.
Withstands the Heaviest Traffic.
In front of the Auditorium Hotel,
on Michigan avenue, Chicago, is
creosoted longleaf pine pavement. laid
in the year 1900. Adjoining it an
area of asphalt block was laid at the
same time. In 1906 the asphalt
blocks were removed and replaced
with wood. In the five years the
asphalt had worn down on an aver
age l inch, but very unevenly, so that
ruts had formed and the blocks were
badly rounded. The wooden blocks
during this time had worn off only
one-eighth of an inch, and the sur
face, except for a badly constructed
gutter at one point, was still perfect
ly smooth and of even grade.
In Baltimore, in the summer of
1901, there were laid several ada
cent strips, of experimental pave
ments. including sheet asphalt, creo-
soted wood, and several kinds of
brick. After five years service. and
after passing through the great fire.
the wood was in better condition than
any Of the others.
In 1902 the Metropolitan Street
Railway Company, of New York City.
decided to experiment with creosoted
wooden blocks for paving between its
tracks. A small area of longleaf pine
was laid on Hudson street. the wood
being thanked at either end of the
granite, the material hitherto used.
At the point selected there is a very
heavy trucking traffic from the North
River wharves, and the stresses on
the pavement. where the trucks run
with one wheel just outside the car
rail. are so great that the granite
begins to show a rut in six months.
and is renewed almost annually. At
the end of four years the wood
though showing heavy rut, was still
sound and in position and good for
at least one more year. The granite
on either side had been renewed
three times during the four years.
Thus it will be seen that wood
paving is not an experiment. It his
stood the test of the heaviest traf-
fic in the largest cities and has stood
up under the strain where other paw.
ing materials have failed, it there
fore is surprising that municiDalities