Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-06-20
CITY BUILT ON sAWDUsT
Engineering Problems of Town Which
Spread Beyond Its Mil.

Fart or tho city Of Muscatine. Iowa
20 punt on foundation of sawdust IN
some places as thick as fifteen feet -
would not appear that any engineer
tfcular substance, with tho idea % par
might prove a good base for urh,,
htructures No one expected thar ~
CITY would extend over the sawdr.,
when tho sawdust was first depo,ited
IL mad 20 go somewhere. and g. 49,
placed whore apparently n coil,
no Marin. As to~n-b builders we ANA
icans are distinguished by our IacL -,
foresight: hence the present neccssi,,.
IN !huscatine for devising solutions ro-
such novel engineering problem. ~.
how best to lay pavements Tor ho as
.raH1c on soft sawdust base and hoa.
20 run permanent sewers through ~,
KIM OF material '"'
Anout tho hrst industry TO locate I'm
~hat was then known as the VILLAGE 80
bloomington, the name being .Hh
quentiy changed TO AIuscatine M.
iarSe sawmill located at the p,ou,h -,
me Muscatine slough. For wbile IA
ieiuse from this mill was used TO an
up around the buildings. hut more
s'ouhd was needed for storing Iunho
As result. the lumber componv r,,aL
,'S territory out over the louI.nd
opIoe.ihs the Mississippi River ro
claiming land with mill refuse ana
protecting II along the river.
ODt1ne6
the State OF Iowa TO build dan ,.,
Inc mouth OF Muscatine slough Thnr
'"e i"nber company started 10 ell g.,
around the cam. using the refuse rror,
lumber yard 'o' It's
In 1888 II was decided to bu,,a i,
leNee which would shut out the rood
rhteIs from Muscatine Island and no
40" lying mainland. Realizing th,,
.Ion IA, actor sites were to be had
,hs tne river on Muscatine Island.
'niee iunoer companies built facto,io.
aiohR the main Travelled road and .oo,,
me south Muscatine and MusscrviI,n
auoitions wore laid out on tho no,,h
CITY part OF the island. Each OF III.
new mills started to reclaim ad,oi,tn
territory with refuse from ,ha;u tnn
.ories. The Hershey Lumber Comnany
erected shaving blower and fiInT IN
"anGatihe slough for six blocks.
OF the yards around the propcr-
n,,sa "a'e had a coating OF earth ap-
pIisd 10 them from nearby hin :,
oer mat vegetation might be raised
Many thousands OF yards OF earth Sor
covering purposes have been hauled
,n'o mis- territory BY wagon. but there
rsroa 81. auite stretch which. as yet.
reveals the bare sawdust
AS the result OF considerable buiId-
ing on the Island there recently came
tue problem. which had been talked
over Tor many years. OF putting in
hort or pavement in the streets
| or this level and low-lyinp 6istric,
which was underInid with RON tbr..
10 niteen feet OF mill refuse and Law
nve rect below h!Sh-water mark. The
o,Ilcuity OF laying sewers in this ter
IHory was another problem which
seemed to demand attention. At last
was decided to construct a storm
water sewer into the Muscatine sloueh
keepins the pipe from three to four
| teet unoerground. and in 1912 1 sani-
| tary sewerage system was planned,
win pumping station near the river
| IN 1912 the matter OF paving arose
ssaln. Upon investigation It was
Rock Island and Pacific Railway nearebv
| had been built over similar ground.
| and that the settlement in ten years
was scarcely noticeable. The Musca-
| tine North and South Railroad has
been built over similar sawdust and
miI.refuse beds with the same result.
with the above Information at hand.
It was decided TO construct a vitrlfed
! DOCK pavement with fve-inch con-
crete base.
me finished street, which Is one OF
the heaviest traffic arteries leading into
the city or Muscatine. has been in use
under the heavy traffic OF lumber wag-
ons and farm produce since September,
1912, and there is no apparent settle
| ment or failure. The mill refuse was
| IN good state OF preservation when
tho pavement was laid, inasmuch as
ground water WAS constantly near the
| surface, and there was no successive
drying and wetting. The city engineer
oelleves. therefore, that there will be
no decay during the life of the pave
ment, and that where settlement does
occur IT VIII be more or less equal
| Engineering Record
| Freeing the IJfuhxx.ys