Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1925-09-03
RAPID WORK
ON new ROAD
Procession of Trucks
Required to Satisfy
the Appetite of a
Mixer

Friday was the biggest day lay
ing the concrete on the road being
constructed from Kings Corners to
the intersection north of the Toole
farm. The working of the mach
inery and the arrival of the mater
ial united in producing a record
day. The concrete is almost to the
place where the east and west road
past the Ski Hi farm joins State
Trunk IL.
There is much activity in order
to complete the job within the spec
flied time. Far ahead are men and
teams preparing the grade and
passing and repassing is a process
sion of trucks hauling the gravel
and cement from cars at Baraboo.
AS the trucks bearing the gravel
and sacks of cement near the great
mixer, they are turned and back
slowly toward the rumbling mach
inc. A man mounts each truck,
empties the cement on the gravel
as the truck backs upon an apron
like part of the mixer. Half of
the load is dumped, the truck NOV
es a few feet forward, the portion
dumped is elevated by power into
the mixer, the apron comes down
again and receives the remainder
of the material on the truck. In
the meantime the big mixer has
taken a drink of a barrel or so of
water, the whole mass has been
turned over and over, and poured
into carrier which dumps the wet
mass into the roadway to. remain,
perhaps, for hundreds or thous-,
ands of years. AS soon as dumped
men attack the pile and spread over
the space intended. These men
wear rubber boots and wade about
almost to the knees.
The space between the steel side
pieces is filled full and next comes
machine which bears a gasoline
engine and which extends across
the 20 feet of soft material. This
machine runs upon the side pieces
of steel and lamps down the gray
ell The tamping iron is twenty
feet long, just as long as the con
crete road is wide, and by its rapid
rmotion does the work of several
men-and better, too.
Next follows two men with
planer which makes the road
smooth. The planer is pushed
back and forth with a slow motion
and leaves the surface ready to be
covered with canvas. No dirt is
spread to prevent the mixture from
drying too fast a coating of a
sodium preparation being used af-
ter the canvas has been removed.
The sodium draws moisture from
the air and keeps the surface of the
road damp for some time.
While all this is going on other
men are hauling the steel side
pieces from the road where COM
pleted and placing them ahead rea-
dy for the machinery when it comes
along. AS soon as the steel sides
are removed shovelers throw dirt
against the side to prevent the mois
ture from escaping. Inspectors are
on the ground every minute of the
time.
Water for the work is pumped
from pond on the farm of Fred
zantow-no great distance from the
road-and conveyed to the scene Of
operation through an iron pipe.
Northeast of the Fred Zantow
home there has been a relocation
which brings the highway near the
cemetery.
After the concrete has been laid
a shoulder of earth will be added,
also gutter on some of the slopes.
The grade has been SO reduced
it will be a pleasure to skim over
the road when completed. More
than two and one-half miles of the
six are down