The Monte Vista journal., 1916-12-09


manence, the only way in which our
highway funds may be invested
rather than wasted, will appreciate
the essential facts of concrete road
to take, but dose of dry facts is
sometimes necessary for the body
polite, and we are here prescribing
that kind of dose. Taken slowly
and thoughtfully, you will be in a
position to better understand how
road may be built so that it will
more than pay back it's cost, long
before it wears out.
Clean, hard, well graded sand and
pebbles or crushed stone, mixed with
cement and water to form a mass of
quaky. or jelly-like consistency.
eventually hardens into stone. When
such a mixture is laid so that slabs
16 feet wide by from 80 to so feet
long are formed, you have a pave
with a durable, non-skid surface
that makes possible higher traffic
speed with larger loads drawn by
fewer horses or less tractive power
"a road open to traffic 365 DAYS in
the year-briefly, a concrete road.
How Is Concrete Road Built?
Successful concrete road construc-
ton requires, first proper prepara-
ton of foundation or sub-grade.
This means compacting the soil
where the concrete is to be laid and
providing drainage so that water
will not remain under the concrete
slabs. Upon the properly prepared
foundation, concrete is, placed in one
or two layers, or courses. This
means that some concrete roads are
built after what is known as the
One-course construction. The first
consists of relatively rich concrete
mixture throughout; the second of a
somewhat leaner mixture for a base,
with a richer top or wearing course
applied before the concrete in the
base has commenced to harden.
Usually where the slabs forming a
concrete road are greater than 16
feet wide, or where the road must
cross low, frequently wet and hence
poorly drained spots, reinforcing in
the form of mesh fabric is embedded
in the concrete while placing, This
assists to prevent the slabs from
cracking, either as the result of set
tlement of the foundation or from
the heaving due to frost action.
Where suitable materials are obtain
able, the one-course type of road is
preferable.
High wearing quality of the con-
crete road results from the using
properly graded, clean,t hard sand
and crushed rock or pebbles. These
must be combined with cement and
water in proper proportions. Port
land cement is firm binder. 1t
holds the sand or broken stone so
tightly together than modern traffic
produces but little wear on the sur
lace and cannot dislodge the parti-
cles.
What Does Il Concrete Road Cost?
Concrete roads cost in the neigh
borhood of $4,000 per mile to
Dulld When built, the cost of keep
ing them in repair owing to the per-
manence of concrete, is an average
OF only $50 per mile The enormous
annual saving in the maintenance of
concrete road compared with other
types, is shown by statistics gath
ereu from Massachusetts, Connecti-
cut, Rhode Island, New Jersey and \
New York for eight years. These
combined statistics show total av-
erage cost per mile of $6OS for
maintenance of roads built with ma
terlaI other than concrete, while
concrete road costs only an average
& ol $50 per mile per year.
reduced to an acreage basis and
distributed over a period of twenty
years under a $1,5OO,0OO bond is
sue the average cost of concrete
road to farmer living on land val
"eu at $3O.63 per acre is So cents
per acre per year This estimate is
oased upon proposed concrete road
construction in Vermilion county,
i'Ilhols, and Nermillion county has
Just accepted bids for 141 miles of
'oncrete highway. Distributed over