Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-08-09
A CONTRAST IN PAYMENTS.

: The recent hot weather furnished a good
comparison as TO the relative merits of the
bituminous and concrete pavements. Under the
;fxtreme heat of the sun the bituminous top
softened and had a tendency to roll
up. making great ruts and often forming a
sticky paste to run through. Every truck left
Its mark and some roads have been severely
damaged so that it will require a considerable
outlay to put the roads in decent shape again.
On the contrary, the concrete pavements
stood up as hard as a rock all through the
hot weather. They have no ruts and show no
signs Of wear. 1t may be claimed that 1t Is
the frost that does the damage to concrete but
If there is a proper foundation and drainage
there need be no more danger of damage by
frost than there is by the heat. On the other
hand, there is nothing that will prevent the
bituminous pavement from softening in sum-
mer.
with this excellent test of the relative merits
of the two kinds of pavement and realizing that
the concrete pavement is much cheaper than
the bituminous top dressing, 1t is not dihlcut
for the ordinary citizen to decide which kind
of payement Is the best for state and county
highways.
Incidentally, it is to be noted that in spite
of the request of the property owners along
West avenue in Sewaren that the road be paved
with concrete. and In spite of the fact that the
freeholders must have known that a concrete
road would be the cheaper, they have de-
1iberately awarded the contract for the paving
of this road with a bituminous top dressing
lust as IL the county had money to burn.
With the money that could be saved by laying
a concrete pavement instead of a pavement with
a patented top dressing it probably would
be possible to make the pavement a few
feet wider than otherwise, and everybody
admits that the pavements are entirely too
narrow at present for the traffic of today. ASK
the average traveller which he would rather
have, a road with a patent top dressing or a
little wider road of all concrete, and there is
no doubt that it would be unanimous in favor
Of the concrete and the wider road. In TACT,
many-a big, majority, we believe-would prefer
q concrete road even though it would be no
wider than the road with the patent surface.
) WiEl the idea that the Board of Freeholders
want to make the taxpayers money go as far
as possible in the matter of highway construc-
ton and repair, and in view of the fact that
the property owners directly affected favored a
concrete pavement, the Evening News suggested
that the rreenolderS get plus on VI III" VI
paverisnts for West avenue and lay either the
bituminous or the concrete, according to which
would mean the greatest saving to the country
For some reason best known to themselves
but which they have refused to explain the
freeholders proceeded to ignore the concrete
pavement entirely, excepting as a base for the
bituminous surface. The Evening News would
like to know why the freeholders show TINS
decided preference for the bituminous material
thereby playing directly into the hands or the
patent pavement interests when every argu-
ment including durability, economy and SATISFY
Ing the people, was in favor of concrete. IL
would be interesting to have the freeholders
answer before the next election.
REFERRING ii NAIL SERVICE.
Postmaster General Hays is getting at thu