The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-17
The Peoples Forum
On the Subject of Highway Paving

 To the Editor of The Age Herald:
 The writer has been noticing that for a period of many months your editorial col umns have been advocating the use of Port land cement concrete pavement over all other types of road construction, and this morning you carry a long editorial entitled Concrete taken particular notice of pavements around Birmingham and elsewhere, and my observa- tions have not agreed with your conclusions. This mornings editorial is particularly un- fair in that while you take a whole column in discussing the recent reduction in cost of Portland cement concrete pavement and in giving your own reasons and conclusions for same, no mention is made of the fact that this cost did not come down until the thick ness of Portland cement concrete pavement was reduced one inch by the State Highway Commission, so that under the present spec ifications Portland cement concrete is speci- fled one inch thinner than any other type of pavement specified, despite the fact that other types of pavement, for example, hot mix, inch for inch, more expensive to construct.
 You state "The introduction of concrete in competitive field has increased the po- tential paved mileage this state may expect" /" It is not the writer's understanding that Port land cement concrete has just entered the competitive field in the state of Alabama. If it has only just entered the competitive | field how is it that bid was submitted for Portland cement concrete on Shelby county road and how was it these other roads were built of Portland cement concrete that you mention in todays editorial? Had you stated that the introduction of the thin slab of Portland cement concrete puts Portland cement concrete in field by itself, as far as competition is concerned, instead of stating "in competitive field" you would have been giving the facts more nearly as they are.
 You also state "There is to be considered also in estimating the cost of pavement that some types cost more for upkeep than oth- CTS" In advocating Portland cement con crete pavement as at present specified in the state of Alabama, have you ascertained the disastrous experiences of California with the thin Portland cement concrete slab? The Chil- ton county road recently awarded to Port land cement concrete is to be nine inches thick at the sides and six inches thick at cen ter, of design which gives an average thickness of six and one-half inches. The Shelby county road let last year consists of two courses of macadam of four inches each and an asphalt top of two inches, giving an average of ten inches in thickness, or nearly 54 per cent. greater than the Chiffon county road In repeated editorials you refer to the Shelby road as inadequate in spite of its great thickness and it's asphalt top laid ac- cordng to the best practice in this or any other country If the Shelby county road is inadequate, why? The inadequacy cannot be attributed to the asphalt top for this type of surface has to its credit hundreds of examples of Serviceability extending over periods of from twenty to forty years with out renewal It cannot be that you regard the pavement too thin in the face of its l ten-inch thickness. It must be then that you object to a macadam base per SC as made ouate no matter how thick it may be or how thin the Portland cement concrete to which you compare t.
 In all fairness your condemnation of the Shelby county road should be accompanied by proof that such construction has proven failure where used. Have you such proof A study of results right here in Birmingham affords proof exactly the reverse of your contention Please inspect Twenty-first street approaching the viaduct and you will find an asphalt top laid on macadam base l in 1910 or fourteen years ago and still in good condition. Birmingham's experience is not isolated, for the record of successful pave ments on macadam base is quite comprehen- siye. In the City of New York, Broadway from Fifty-ninth to Seventy-ninth, was so paved in 1890 and gave good service twenty two years, renewal being due to subway ex- cavations. Fifth avenue so paved from 11Oth to 120th street gave nineteen years good service and repairs averaged about , per cent year. Lenox avenue so paved in | 1904 is still giving good service. Borough of Queens has upwards of 100 miles of such construction Queens boulevard so paved in ! 1912 has an enormous passenger and truck traffic Oregon laid more than 2,500,000 yards of this construction in 1919; Michigan boulevard in Chicago is on macadam base. This list could be added to by literally hun dreds of examples. Now what do you offer to controvert it?
 Is it not more to the point to oiQuestion the