The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-07-18
Talk On Paving Before J
Council This Morning
From Mondays Daily.

construction superintendent for that
city. spoke to the council for some
time this morning on the paving
of the streets in Mankato. He was
invited to come here at the expense
of the city to view Broad street and
tell what could be done to improve
it's condition. Mr. Ward says that
the material and workmanship on
the street are good, but that not
enough paving was used. In other
words, the surface was not thick
enough when first laid, and 1t has
worn off so that now it is not over
three-quarters of an inch thick any
where. According to the guarantee
the street should have been in good
condition at the end of ten years,
which has now expired. Mr.. Ward
thinks that if the matter had been
taken up at once, the company
which did the work could have been
made to repair the street. On this
street Mr.. Ward advises the city to
use it as long as it will last, which
will probably be a year or eighteen
months longer, and then put on an
entirely new surface. He thinks that
this will be cheaper than patching
and repatching it.
Likes Creosote Block Paving.
Mr.. Ward thinks that the creosote
blocks used in paving here are ex-
cellent, and that the work is done
we'll and that the streets have the
correct contour, but he says that the
reason that some of the blocks have
loosened is because the pitch which
was put on after the blocks We're
laid was not ductile enough to hold
the blocks together and make the
paving impervious to water. The
water gets under them and raises
them and thus spoils the street. He
is of the opinion that the pitch was
put on either too hot or too cold. On
some of the streets which are paved
with blocks, samples of the pitch
used is soft and sticky yet, and the
street is in excellent condition, but
on others, the pitch has dried and is
hard and brittle. 1t is on these
streets that the pitch has broken off
and allowed the water to run in
between the blocks. The remedy for
this is, according to Mr. Ward, to
have the blocks swept and the
cracks cleaned out and new coat
of pitch applied at the right tenn
perature. This, he says, will stop
the water and the streets will be as
good as new.
The Brick Paving.
In regard to the brick paving on
Front street, Mr. Ward says that
there is no ductility to the filling
under and between the bricks and
that this is the reason that the
edges are Clipped off, and the bricks
become loosened. He recommends
that the same treatment be given
the brick streets as the block streets,
and new filling applied in the proper
manner. He estimates that this will
cost about 80 cents per running foot
on the streets.
In regard to future paving, Mr..
Ward says that the only way to be
sure that the paving is being done
right, is to hire a competent chem.
list to inspect the blocks as they
are sawed and treated at the fac.
tories, and then have a competent
man to oversee the word of laying
them. He says that a $4,000 job
can be done in sixty days. If the
two men, the chemist and the over.
seer are given salary of $40 per
day, their salary will amount to just
one per cent of the cost. He thinks
that this is cheap insurance. Mr.
Ward, in explaining how the rene
dies for the streets here, and in
suggesting the relaying of pavement
repeated parallel cases in his own ex.
perience. In regard to the asphalt mac
adam paving here, he said that this
kind of paving should be done with
mechanical mixer and not poured
on as has been done.
insures Perfect Distribution.
This insures perfect distribution
of the ingredients of the mixture
He said that the city of st. Paul
had passed resolution prohibiting
any asphalt work done in any other
way, and that he had been sent on
trip to see how other cities were
doing. The result was that the CITY
bought small asphalt plant fol
about $4,000, and in one season this
plant paid for itself and left a prof
it of thirty or forty cents per square
yard on all the patching and the
new street paving done, over what
would have been charged for by con
tractor to do the work. He advises
Mankato to get a plant of this kind
and use it for repairing, and after
Broad street is completely worn out
a new surface can be laid on the
old filling at great deal less than il
would cost to let the job out by con
tract.
The lighting question was made a
special order of business for today's
meeting, and John j. Gerlich moved
that the council meet with the com
mittee of the Commercial club which
was appointed in accordance with
the action at the mass meeting. The
committee and the council met at two
o'clock this afternoon.
Better Protection Against Fire.
Councilman A. G.. Lack brought
up the matter of better protection
against fire and it was unanimousl,
o0rood fhof Monl>o&o 10 a. Ia.