Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-03-03
WILL SAVE VAST sums
New Mixture More Durable Than
Pure Cement COncrete-COsts
Less Even Than Macadam.

first importance to the state of Ore
gon was announced by the engineer
ing college of the University of Ore
gon this week 1t is, in its simplest
terms, that the state is full of vol
canic material. 'puzzolan." and that
this puzzolan can be mixed with
Portland cement, making a material
for road building even stronger and
more durable than the pure article
and at fraction of the cost. This
epoch-making discovery, it is assert
ed, advances the state many years
toward the solution of the problem
of permanent roads. The new puz-
zolan road is cheaper than macadam
and better than the best unmixed
concrete.
Makes Permanent Road.
Paying for five year roads with
| twenty-year bonds" is an argument
that has called a halt on many a
good roads campaign. 1t is believed
that now, with the way shown to
construct permanent highways at less
than the cost of the present rapidly
deteriorating macadam, it will be
safe to build under the bonding sys-
TEN, leaving both the road and part
of the indebtedness for the incoming
generation. The details of the dis
covery are announced in a publica-
tion issued by the university which
can be obtained by writing to the
registrar. V
PuzzoIan is New Material.
Puzzolan, the volcanic material, is
well distributed in Oregon The pro-
portion in which it can be mixed
with concrete varies with the local
ity. That which Professor E. H. Nc
Alister, dean of the engineering col
lege, has designated as Eugene puz-
zolan" is found abundantly through
out the Willamette valley. Another
! type exists near Grants Pass; arti-
ficial puzzolan can be made from
blast furnace Stag from Oswego; still
another form is termed "diatoma-
ceous EARTH" also found in the Will
lamette valley.
The great factor in favor of using
a local material in place of cement
is the cost of the cement saved; but
the cost of transportation of the ,ce-
ment is also an important item The
cost of cement in Eugene in carload
lots is $2.3S barrel, net. Allowing
for a three-mile haul from the rail-
road to road plant the cost rises to
$2.4S barrel. Figuring at this cost
for cement, the cost for the blended
cement is as follows:
Cement. .53 of barrel, at
| @z.fo .''..... Sl.3l5
Total cost of blending. .... .3S
Cost of blend, per barrel, .$1.695
Saving per barrel. ..... 1855
Use of Such Substances Not New.
The use of substances similar to
puzzolan is not new. Los Angeles
used volcanic substance called tufa
in the construction of its great $50
mile concrete aqueduct, in which
100000 barrels of cement were
used, or enough fer 1900 miles of
15-foot concrete road. The German
government, after prohibiting similar
blends for several years, has very
recently permitted their use on con-
crete construction, following elabo-
rate tests. The important considera-
tion for Oregon is that the proper
substances have been found to exist
in large quantities all over the state
and, furthermore, analysis shows that
Oregon's supply is of very high
quality, an Improvement on the con-
crete rather than an adulteration.
Macadam Out of Date.
Macadam pavement is rapidly fall
ing into disfavor all over the coun-
try. The state of New York has
spent millions of dollars upon mac
adam roads, but a few months ago
in a popular election $5O,OO0,0OO
was voted which will be used in tear
ing up the macadam roads and re-
placing them with concrete.
Macadam roads in Oregon, particu-
larly in Lane county, cost to lay 51.9
cents square yard; in Massachu-
sets, not including contractors prof
it estimated at 20 per cent, six-inch
macadam costs 81 cents. But the
upkeep is the expensive feature of
such roads. OF course this varies un-
der local conditions. Estimates
range from 6.S2 cents per square
yard per annum to SO cents yard.
The annual cost of maintenance OF
macadam in Paris is said to be one
third of the cost each year. This is
to say macadam road must be re-
hn:lt every three years. The figures,
collected by the United States office
-