The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-05-01
PUBLIC OPINION
Editor of Farmer. Sir:


Editor of Farmer, Sir:
The material to be used in the work
of permanently paving State street
| west Of Park avenue Is matter that
| at the present time is being very
| carefully considered by some of the
| interested property owners in that
section Of the city, especially since
| they have learned of the merits of the
Bitulithic pavement which the Warren
Brothers of Boston are desirious Of
| having the city adopt on that or some
one of the other thoroughfares that
| is under consideration for improvement
in the near future. So much has been
said and recommended about this
! moves to improve the main thorough
| fares recommended by the action Of
| the council, that many of the tax
payers who will be called on to foot
| the bills, have become interested to
such an extent that they want to
| know more about the qualities of the
Bitulithic pavement, especially in
| view of the fact that it can be laid
| at a much less cost than some of the
| forms of pavement now in use.
IF it's as good and as durable as
| the wood block pavement" said one
of the city officials who will have a
say in determining the matter land
does not cost as much, that's the kind
of materials the city wants and there
is no reason why the property owners
should not have it If they want it.
believe my self that it is an excellent
pavement and that it is just as good
as it has been recommended. It GER
tainly carries with it the excellent
endorsement of some of the best road
engineers in the country and they
ought to know"
For the benefit of the interested tax
nov he inc oil doc0 r,
ton will unquestionably be Of inter-
est:
The ESSENTIAL principles of Bitulithic
are the durability and resistance to
destructive traffic and other condi-
lions, which can only be secured
through the use Of mineral ingredients
so combined as to have almost the
compactness and resistance of solid
stone. However, the solid stone would
not be suitable because Of its lack
of resiliency and the absence of elias
ITCHY, the tendency to abrade and
thus wear away under the influence
Of traffic. In Bitulithic the desirable
essential elements have been preserv-
ed and the weaknesses eliminated by
the combination of various sizes of
stone so mixed as to reduce the voids
or interstices to minimum and these
voids are filled with a waterproof
elastic cement which produces the nee
essary ease of traction and at the
same time binds the mineral ingre
dents permanently together.
In the construction of the bitulith-
ic pavement the first step is to secure
stone which is adapted to produce the
best results. After careful inspec-
ton and laboratory tests to determine
the porosity and friability of the
stone, it is then determined what pro-
portions of the varying sizes can be
used to give that resistance known as
| I;1 - ,sxxfr1 Of a
various sizes to the mineral ingredi-
ents in the predetermined proportions
is added the Bituminous waterproof
cement in sufficient quantity to en-
tirely fill the remaining voids.
The resulting mixture combined and
is hauled to the street and thereafter
careful laying to uniform grade Is
thoroughly compacted under rollers
with sufficient weight to force the
component units into close jextapos1-
ton with each other The Bitulithic
pavement presents q pleasing appear
ance to the eye, affords an easy foot
hold to traffic and is as durable as
can be any form of street construc-
ton exposed to wear and tear of con-
slant use and of the elements.
The city of Pawtucket, r. L., was
of the new pavement. AS early as
1901 nearly 1000 square yards were
laid on Harvey street in that city and
this section has been a source OF
great interest to visiting engineers
every since owing to the fact that up
to this time no satisfactory surface
had been found for so steep grade.
Previous to laying the bitulithic sur
face extensive repairs were necessary
after each heavy rain storm as the
securing effect of the water on the
II per cent grade was very destruc-
tive Since the bitulithic surface was
laid repairs have been unnecessary.
At the present time the surface is in
excellent condition andt looks fully as
good as when it was first laid. On
such grades coarser top mix is laid
and horses find little trouble in Sc
curing a good foothold.
During that same year the pave
ment was built in seven different cit
les and its success which was imme-
date has increased in wonderful
strides each succeeding year until last
year over three million square yards
of the pavement was laid in 81 differ
emf cities throu ghout this country and
Canada This widespread success
alone speaks of its popularity and the
merits of the pavement. From every
quarter the verdict seems to be in
favor of the Bitulithic surface for the
opinions of some of the expert engi-
neers of the country strongly COM
mend it's use.
One of the best and most weighty
of the opinions which have been pub
lished is that Of George w. Tilson.
president of the American Society of
Municipal improvements Chief Engi-
neer Of the Bureau Of Highways of
the Borough of Manhattan, and au-
thor of the standard book, "Street