The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-05
FIFTEEN YEARS


 into the matter, that it is hard to de- termine the average economical life of a bituminous pavement although it is probably somewhere close to fifteen years. It is also difficult to determine the amounts expended annually for maintenance of such pavements in the various cities. Buffalo, New York, which has for many years been known as the asphalt city of the world,' has kept the most complete record of any available. At the close of 1918, it was estimated by the officials of that city that the average of their bituminous pavements had been twenty-three years, and that at that time, they were spending over cents per square yard per year, based the total yardage, for maintenance alone. About the same time Washington, D. C., gave out a statement that the average life of her bituminous pavements was approxi- mately twenty five years, but failed to show at what rate per square yard per year was spent for maintenance. The borough of Manhattan in 1915 estimated the average life of it's bituminous pavements had been fifteen years, but failed to give the cost of maintenance. Savannah, Ga. found that after their pavements were sixteen years old, it was necessary to entirely replace them with new pavements.
 LASTS IF YEARS
 Birmingham oldest bituminous pavements- are now seventeen years old and fully fifty per cent of the pavements were laid ten years ago or more. The old pavements have every appearance of lasting many years long er with reasonable amounts expended for repairs each year, although the oldest pavements are on the down. town heavy traffic streets. The great est annual appropriation by Birning- ham for paved street maintenance was $13000 durng the present year. This amount had to take care of all repairs done on 1,900,00 equare yards of pave ment. Making a liberal estimate that S10,c00 of this amount was spent for maintaining bituminous pavements, which as stated before, amounted to ap- proximately 100000 equare yards, the cost per square yard for the year, it can be easily seen, amounts to one cent per yard, or less than one fifth of the rate expended in Buffalo during 1918, at which time, material and 'abor were very much cheaper that at pres ent.
 If Birmingham had had m ap-
 proprfation for maintaining bitu-
 minous paved streets this year.
 based on BuffaIo's 1918 rate. it
 would have been $5O.OOO. If such
 m amount were available fOr
 maintenance purposes each year
 for n period of years. one can read
 fly see what wonders could he
 worked our paved streets. It
 fs an undisputed fact that the
 original cost of Birmingham's
 movements l,u&
 of almost any city in the United
 States. and that the amount avail
 able for maintenance purposes has
 always been far below that of the--
 average city.
 The old adage that "A stitch in time saves nine" is very applicable with ref erence to the maintenance of bitumn- ous pavements. If it were possible to inspect the pavements at frequent in tervals and apply the proper remedy. as soon as disintegration sets in, the trouble could be confined to very small area. Whilst if the defect is not sealed up at once, moisture, the great enemy to bituminous pave ments, enters and gradually spreads the disintegration over considerable areas, thus resulting in the necessity for larger expenditure for repairs. It is remarkable how many people imag inc they know just what class of pave ment is the best, and how it should be constructed, and their influence has been great in the past in the selection of street pavements. Many authorities have given poor foundations as a prin- cipal cause of failures in pavements. Others have given poor drainage as reason, willie still others have claimed that it was the character of the ma terials and the method of construction used in the pavement itself.
 PROPERTY OWNERS
 The writer would say that up to ten years ago the cause of poor pave ments was due more largely to the property owners, influenced by paving promoters and contractors, than any other cause. It was not so many years ago that it was the common practice to lay any class of pavement. on any street, which was petitioned for, by majority of the property owners on such street. Such property owners, be- ing usually influenced by what they had seen in other cities, or by what they had been told by a propomter or contractor interested in some patented form Of pavement regardless of the advice of the city engineer. Conse- quently. it was only after many fai1- ures, resulting from such methods of