The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-02-17
Same Type Paving for
Rocky Ford as
Laid in Black
foot
I.AnHC HnArTD A or
LARGE CONTRACT
Colorado Springs Plans
ST., 900, ,0O0,. Paving ..
Program

the week from ROCKY FOrd, COlO.,
where he went to attend the bidding
for $4,000 yards of paving and made
q very interesting report on his re-
turn. He said there were five repre-
sentatives of the concrete type of
paving bidding on the work and
there were two cement mills within
seventy-five miles of Rocky Ford.
That was considered giving them a
great advantage over the bidders on
other types of work. The bitulithic
company got the contract for exactly
the same type Of paving that is be-
ing laid at Blackfoot and at q little
higher price than we are paying here.
For more than year Colorado
Springs has been studying the ques-
ton of paving and are planning to
put down about 100000 worth Of
It. Last winter they sent out COM
mission of five men consisting OF four
city commissioners and the city en-
gineer who travelled $500 miles at
city expense in making a thoro in
vestigation of concrete paving and
bitulithic paving as we'll as such
other types as they thought worthy
of examination. They visited Poca-
tello, Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, and q
number of other towns in Idaho on
their trip. When they got back they
filed report saying that they con-
sidered bitulithic the best kind of
paving.
Colorado Springs had for its con-
sulting engineer, Professor Blancs-
ard of the University of Michigan,
author of one book and a number OF
other works on paving and he criti-
cises rather severely the concrete
roads that have been built. One of
his books that has come to our at
tention showing how the concrete
paving cracked. He selected Ger
tain piece of work in the state of
New York and had it surveyed every
year for cracks and seams and the
area that was under observation
showed about 1900 linear feet of
cracks in twelve months after it was
laid and about $500 linear feet in
two years, 1000 feet in three years
and so on, doubling the amount of
cracks every year. The logical con-
clusion is that it will keep on crack
ing until it is disentegrated.
Professor Blanchard advised Colo
RADIO Springs to use bitulithic paw
ing on a concrete base and the city
government did not entirely agree
with him. The soil of Colorado
Springs is disentegrated granite
and that was something rather newto
Professor Blanchard and they finally
settled the matter by letting Mr..
Blanchard go and employing George
F. McGonigle, now the state engineer
of Utah, who will take charge of
their million dollar contract.
Mr.. McGonigle is son-in-law of
H. c. Tavey of Blackfoot, Idaho.
For city engineer of Colorado
Springs they have employed the man
who is now serving as city engineer
at Twin Falls, whose name we have
forgotten.
Colorado Springs decided that they
wanted western men who understood
western soils and western conditions
to build their paving.
At Fort Collins, Colo, where they
have some concrete paving and where
considerable beet pulp is hauled thru
the streets, they found that the acids
in the beet pulp dissolved the con-
crete and they have enacted an ordin-
ance prohibiting the hauling of beet
pulp thru the streets. The juices
coming in contact with the paving
dissolve It.