The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-12

$2.G5 a square yard for am area Of
$500 square yards of similar pavement
on a five inch concrete base on King
street, this work, If IT. had been in.
cluded in other road contracts. could
have been included i'm other road con
tracts, could have been completed at
a cost Of not more then 81 per square
yard, after allowing for the increase
in the price OF cement on the islands
over the mainland, due to additional
freight charges
The 3iO0 square yards of pine block
pavement on Queen street. between
| Nuuanu and Fort streets, cost the city
and county $4.49 per square yard. It
cost the City of Milwaukee only S2.4O
per square yard to lay its creosoted
wood block pavement This class of
pavement is expensive in the cost Of
original construction and also TO
maintain on account of the high cost
Of Restricting
Road Costs on Mainland
In the City of Birmingham, Alabama.
which in point of general physical
conditions may be compared, in many
respects, with the city of Honolulu,
its bitulithic paving cost about L75
per square yard, including all neces-
sary grading where streets had been
previously caved or macadamiZed, the
sheet asphalt paving costs about the
same as bitulithic; bricks costs about
.$1.9c; granite block, $2.25; concrete,
80; b,tuminous binder macadam 90
cents; rock asphalt, 81; macadam
paving, exclusive of grading 40 cents;
and sidewalks So cents per square
yard The average cost of graholithic
sidewalks, curbs and cutters laid by
the city of Stanton, Virginia, under
the general plan of city government,
was only 80 IL cents per square yard.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, bitulithic
tar maCadam costs SEQ per square
yard; granite blocks, $3.50; sheet
asphalt $3.50; asphaltic concrete,
.$1.3O; tar concrete, $l.20; tar maca-
dam, $1.2O, and water bound or urdrn-
airy macadam, 80 cents As a substitu-
ton for bitulithic paving. asphaltic
macadam has proven equal TO the
same climatic and other conditions
which are to be found on the islands
and which is laid in Milwaukee at
$13O per square yard.
City and County Road Problem.
With from ninety TO ninety-fve
miles of macadamized roads, ayerag-
ing in width twenty.eight feet, in The
city of Honolulu alone, urgently need
ing overhauling and with many miles
of roads in other parts of the county
requiring constant attention, the road
problem with us should be dealt with
both intelligently and with an eye to
the immediate future. If contractors
were let to cover the major portion of
our road construction work, and were
Of sufficient importance in point of
size to interest the large mainland
contractors, these firms, with large
capital at their backs, would un-
doubtedly make satisfactory arrange
ments with the city and county to
finance the various undertG kings This
contract work during its construction
period should, of course, be regularly
inspected by the city engineer and his
road supervisor. With the letting out
by contract of the construction work,
the maintenance of our roads could
be well loked after by the city and
county. with a considerable reduction
in the present pay-rolls and lessening
Of wear and tear of the equipment
It is impossible to state the full
extent of the financial benefits which
would result to the city and county
in. first. formulating a definite plan
for road construction work, and then
carrying it out on strictly business
lines IT is safe to state, however.
that at least $4,000 could be saved
annually by adopting such methods.
County Road Supervisor Association.
The many and varied problems in
volved in making road improvements
under present methods OF con.truc.
ton render Il necessary that the city
engineer and road supervisor be ap.
pointed from the standpoint of eX,
perience and previous results The
road supervisors rom GUY various
counties should form county road
supervisors association, SINH ar 10 the
county engineers association of New
Jersey and other Eastern States. and
by holding meetings at frequent in
tervals opportunity would be had fol
an exchange of experience that would
result in much good to the community
Assessments for Street Improvements
Our present laws should be sc
amended that the cost of al street
p paving work should be assessed to
and paid by the abutting property, anC
a proportionatc share of the expense
- should also be borne by the holder