Mower County transcript., 1915-05-12
Public Improvement Most
" -fE:2Ei - =,
Effective n Increasing
Qty's hea;thfuh'ess
and beauty...Also
Pays Best Cash
Profits.

depth Of the blocks and make them OF
someWhat smaller size otherwise, thus
rendering it possible to get a better
cut block at the same expense as be-
fore and allowing the blocks to be latd
with a closer joint, thus reducing alb
normal wear,
Wood Block Pavsments.
Wood pavements have been laid at
intervals In this country for some sev-
enty years. The drst pavements were
not only Of untreated wood. but Of
wood selected without much regard
for its natural durability.
The drst treated wood pavement In
this country was laid in fremont
street, Boston. in 1900. This pavement
has been In use during this entire pe-
rtod, with very small repairs. and is In
good condition at the present time.
Tue present method Of laying wood
pavements in this country has not been
in use long enough to determine what
the cost Of maintenance is. but figures
obtained from st. Louis, Minneapolis
and other cities indicate that 1t is ex-
ceedingly small. 1t has been given q
value as shown In the table below.
Brick Pavsments.
The first brick pavements in this
in 1870, but the material did not come
into general use for some time. Many
failures have occurred in brick pave
| ments because people did not under
| stand the difference between bricks,
! and 1t was not easy in the early days
Of the industry to determine previous
| to it's use whether a certain brick
| would or would not make good pave
| ment
Asphalt Pavements.
The first sheet asphalt pavement OF
any note was laid Oh Pennsylvania
avenue, Washington. in 1876. SO great
was its success that it soon came into
! general use all over the country. While
i called asphalt pavement, it is almost
entirely composed OF sand, as the
| standard pavements have but 10 to II
per cent of bitumen, which is the vaiu-
able property of the asphalt, the rest
being made up or sand and smals
portion OF stone dust.
The pavement is pleasing In appeal
ance, smooth. not noisy and on light
traffic streets seems to be almost ideal
1t is more slippery than the hard block
pavements, and in the coast cities 1t
is not generally laid on grades over
or 4 per cent In the interior. however.
where the atmosphere contains less
moisture, it is often used on grades as
high as per cent without trouble.
Data collected from the cities OF
Brooklyn. Boston. Buffalo, Chicago.
New York. Philadelphia, St Louis and
Washington show that these cities In
1890 had a total Of 24G miles of as
phalt pavement and in 1911 2.34S miles.
This gives an idea Of the popularity OF
the pavement, although it must be ta-
ken into consideration that this was
during period when there was great
activity In laying new and smooth
pavements. In Brooklyn. in 1895, there
were eighteen miles Of asphalt pave
ment, while at the present time there
are $40 miles. Brooklyn is a residen
tial city. without many steep grades
and one to which this material IS par
: t1cularly adapted.
Relative Costs.
The following table shows the cost
3 Of different kinds Of pavement for 6
( period Of years. assuming that granite
: has life Of twenty-five years. wooc
j twenty years. brick fifteen years ant
t asphalt eighteen years, This life. a.
3 has been intimated before. is probably
d too small for Ohio brick pavements o.
those In small cities:
Average
q -.- First Expense expense
cost, per yard per yard
square per year. per year.
I = Material yard. first period. dfty year.
L Granite ..... $50 QN Nz7
!. Asphalt ..... Roo @4F&s o1e s'@~~@ Ole
Y006 x&Q e1D8 az