THE BEST ROADS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2196, 8 July 1914, Page 17

THE BEST ROADS

LESSONS FROM ABROAD

AN INTERESTING VIEW OF THE PROBLEM

TAR V. BITUMEN

Mr. F. G. Mace, of the contracting firm, devoted himself while in England recently to a close study - of the various methods of road-mak-• ins which were being adopted.;.", lii J response to a request for hisrVviewS as;' to tho best roads for New Zealand, Mr. Mace has supplied the following article:—

That tlio time has arrived question of good roads is forced : ;nipou every community goes without Baying; Wo are living now in an ago of rapid progress. Methods of road construction, liko machines which a few years ago wero up to date, aro now on the scrap heap. Even in countries where tho population may be considered as having reached its maxiniunOuid-ithd! actual number of-vehicles is liotincteas-' ing, tho drastic change in speed and weight forces upon the civil engineer new responsibilities, and ho finds it imperative to adopt some form of road and street construction suitable m strength and purpose to meet tho pre-sent-day demands. Tho time is not far distant, I think, w*hen out of all the multitudinous methods now ,obtaining, or that may even yet be evqlvffl, KStiiif dard method may become as scientifically known and as practical in its application as the, present-day mixing and uses of Portland cement.

To fix on to the right method is somewhat difficult. Out of all the methods now in use or in process of being exploited, the engineer may well feel somewhat perplexed. This will b8 inCro especially the case with engineers Mac,: tising in the Dominion, who Ua'ire? ifot received a European or Qjntjpental -training, .or who have not eveii Itai'tho advantage of visiting, the large centres of population in the Northern Hemisphere, and there acquired" practical linowledgo from personal obse'rvatii/n, a knowledge otherwise almost impossible to obtain. In saying this I should 1)0 sorry,-indeed to bo thoiigtjt;s) .iflfer that our colonial engineers are secondrate.. On. the contrary, I. say, that in intelligence and initiaiivo they compare favourably, and probably in some particular branches., gf; profession excol any in l tlieworld. Still to a .large'extent, probably to a very large extent, 2!th&# have to Tely upon methods and formulae obtained from,** 4 published literature which bears on their profession, aJid I maintain that in tho, particular branch' now under£fonfeid§ration—road construction —their field of knowledge would bo wonderfully enhanced by personal observation large seats of operation: J

Reputations are more easily lost than won, and I am'afraid it frequently happens that engineers adopt more expensive methods because they feel they lack the scientifio and practical knowledge to enable them to adopt with confidence methods which their-fellow, practitioners ~in. England and.r6V{'thoi, Continent are'jfortunate enojjgU'toi^po;; in .daily practice, : and inv: ; can, ,'by personal .observation; ,; wheat from the chaff (I anv now speaking entirely in connection with road' construction and no other branch of engineering).' An engineer-is rjghtly ;a?' jealous'of his reputation as''airy other' professional man, iand probably his works® are -under- a fiercer-searchlight than those of other professibrisl AiJ failure or blunder is at once obvious to the whole public, and consequently where the man who has seen for himself lias neither fear nor hesitation, he who has not seen contents himself with.. methods which lie knows and-haS" seen' (limited though they be), rather than run the risk of a failure or injury to his reputation. By such a/policy, the only .tting. that can happen js: ; "a depletion of the pocket of the taxpayer/ \ si Object Lessons From Abroad. " The Australasian colonies are proba.bly second to none in the world for enterprise. ,We" are nevertheless, geographically at a disadvantage and frequently sometimes behind m adopting methods evolved from the best brains of the millions of our more favoured kindred and their neighbours | oversea. I am of a very decided opinion that no effort should be spared and no sacrifice considered too great on the part of any rising engineer in his endeavours to visit the' larger centres of population. Nor am I alono in this opinion. A late Mayor of one. of cities visited England, and ent, and upon his return said;-, from/a' public platform :■ "I have kept my eyes and I tell. you. as J. City Engineer,' that you 6lum'ld'" send" him round the world and you will save thousands a year to the .city." _ Lord Islington later on, from a public platJ.fcrm, reiterated the same . sentiments. | Leadingphysicians and- .eiiirgeons. it necessary and a work of- lovo?totflj!-il casionally return to the great seats of learning and take up post-graduate work, and then return to.;us l i.lil®,. "giants refreshed with new tfiHc,"'w'itlT. all tho latest achievements in the science of their profession, and; with knowledge acquired from vation in the theatres of opetdtSrii "'Sir I maintain, an engineer might with profit to himself and the community ho serves bo more than repaid for the mere monetary outlay for his trip. Efficient roads are now engaging the attention of the whole world, tho British Parliament has set up commissions to report, committees are- organising and forming road improvement associations, and nations are holditejpeno'dical conferences on the subre|a I Last June one was held ,in Loudtftljf fl'hero nearly all tho nations of the JfrMth; were represented, and in 1916_a dntjiW con " ferenco is. to sit in Munich. Iffliis continual effort and energy musS fjiave farreaching effects. |J?j 1 The Traffic of tho Fijlfeiv.. zlt is now fully vecognisec| tjiajt powcr-propslled vehiclo has| raino ttastay. In London alono thero|, r$ lOjuOO' taxi-cabs. In Now Zealand jijj.have a fair sprinkling. It. is also ajrccognieed. fact that as at present constructedf ouf highways are not equal to tho demands mado upon them; in short; tho vehicle has taken charge of tho roa<| 4i and, is_ "top-saw.ver." Progress, industry, commerce, all demand good roads, roads that will stand up ujcJot any reasonable power-driven bo they for pleasure or for commercial use, and tho porplexing question is, what form of rdSd! iJ "botli v as to foundation and adopt? A form that will give lasting satisfaction within reasonable! limits, of, cost, it must' bo 110 narrow-minded policy nor a policy dealing only with present requirements, but one that anticipates the requirements of the future, and what those requirements are liiHy to be. Nor is tlio question -olio of i'i(gineoring concern only. It is Y;T'«>•<•!!I' political significance, one which,,. ii'U\ I Legislature must faoo with omnauv ;:inl determination. It resolves itself iuio four principal issues: The fiiffiiiS the' road, tho cost and miiintona:ic>v and ! tho form of taxation necessary tn I'mv" | tho cost. . -t

, Dealing -jritli tho- traffic, with Z nr,'. generally speaking motor-car li:iHi£;is what is usually referred to in liisqißsing roads:' This is bv no weans : t-tic least important issue.; but 1101 tho .allimportanl. Foothold must b<' <;»n-_ sidered for horses, lor thougfi'liv vaii'-*

ishirig quantity*, they arO;hot,.yel qui to gono. what, howover, is.moro.likely to •com© ionic toViis is tho pWcr-propelled ,'vo.hfejp ;for;."cQm®fcrciftl':;uso,_.Specially' tlio fcFgg tliTsv--i.'vehicle,. I /ancy; stroiifftli i_ 6f tho ro'Sd must ;bo' considered/ y It'may bo taken, as tho constant. Tako tlio London bus for an example. Its weight is 7 tons when loaded, carrying 35 people, 16 inside, 17 outsido, a driver and conductor, and travels at a lcjgal speed of 12 miles , au ; hour,4.hougli I think mora frequent-,'-ly"tban.Jjiot 10 miles an hour obtains. .This Mliielo with its kicking, sacking, faction, is no doubt so far ;tlie»mosi trying on roads, and consequently any road mado to stand this vchiclo will bo less affected by slower driven commercial vehicles. Indeed, on a good strongjoad a 5-ton steam wagon with a 7-milo~speed, and tireisfcarryiiig 7cwt..|)dr iiicli of width},. is to a n'a'rrofr |iro weight per -iiich m' a. horse-driven*- vehicle. Power-driven commercial vehicles aro iit England and elsewhere everywhere JJie pstffulL" petrolrou isajsavyssteam lor, ii'ios. > ; .Tlie latter iiro in. genoral use. 'Httftdredsf.' of ' : iifre'm,-with tlr&r heavy loads and trailers, traverse the busy thoroughfares of London. Iso street is closed to thorn. Personally I think they aro the coming vehicle for commercial use, tho tiro expense, especially on country joadSj. being much against tho petrol machmo.- It may become a 'ifruestio^forour Legislature to consider whether it' is Hot more prudent to construct good roads to carry steam motor traffic rather than railways. At tlio present tinio these vehicles aro in open competition with British railways: firms running their own goods from London to Birmingham and from London to Bedford and other places find it more economical uso tlio railways. If ;-'there w\yhohero? Now, few such vehicles aro seen on our country roads, ihe time is not far distant when thov wiu bo m evidence. So far tho traffio on our roads is exceedingly light compared with older-established countries, but wo aro growing, a;nd whatever is rlono ill road-building now should bo dono well, and with si. siugla eye to •meet coming , "requirements,.

HpCountry Roads and 1 Cost, r' tsken. into.consideration, trio . •iramo.to 'come/ tho''important question arises, what road is.best? Herd wo are confronted witk a- most porpiexina 1 question, and the. ono which- is most difficult of'solution.' There'aro so many methods.lll. ypgqe, and so many proprietary- mixtures' aro '■ befOro the public, ■ i s ,W®«o%C W all SOrtS ot forms is' to the front, wood- . "W.lf 1 5v ssto D 9;- se ts,i.,haixiiburnt .bricks concrete' foundation, _ with 3in. of tar maoadanvonjtqpj or 3iil.rpf';mctal -grouted w with tar. This latter method is l n< sj I terns set! Till UKe,':.Cfty ;.'of • - Ade- ' 'aide, and is being put forward as :^£ r is!^s'S I P r street', of Wellington by their City Engineer. Any or these methods are capable of adoption m larger cities, where probably tho public are not'so interested, in. . .comp'ai'a'iivo cost. Biit-foi-'our-couiitry goads' iVis an eueirbly'clifferent matter. Hundreds, or even thousands, of miles have to be considered, and so ..ponies the crux of tho whole Question —cost. So far we have not even attained to the macadam road, except here and there. For tho most part our public roads liavo been made from river shingle or rotten rock,, and districts well supplied with shinglo have shakeu hands with themselves that they ..possessed such I NV.-I • i ! I have, just returned irom a, visit '.Ho tho,iiNel6oit!;district,"'tfherbMisvor. : 'bed material is used their iroad.v &g»l-jfdsou , could boast of having the best roads in the Dominion. To-day, unfortunately, I am-afraid-they must be r classed;among th6hvoi : st..\--A trip in *a motor-oar round ' thft' Rifck's' Road' and" along £ho" main road and through .the beautiful fruit district -ofMotucka- is sufficient to satis"fy'6ne"aVto'"the"road. One might fancy himself "seated astride a church and overy shinglo a Jew's harp." Tlioy aro still 'throwing away their moneym futile attempts to' make good roads out . ..of....riverbed stuff. ,- 0 Carts passed s : 'lda'de<l%ith this lovely;sh'ingre,Scorita'in*'?. : ing sonietimos 50 per xent. .of'isar.d, tipped loosely on thoidaa'to'bo coiisoli- • dated by pellicular 'liW<SliM,th«Eaio6fßa ■of the horses (such - d.;garden;'of v Ed«i-' "is surely entitled to bettor-Toads)V'Still, tho road'as it now is generally speaking T dare say/ni^itij.BßSiw'iroads now. hav§r-what timo-mado!foundation." eye%tSgughvitj be only of river metal/-andVon. trimmed to proper crb'sk.'fdlls'atjS'oderh road construdt^d/..' shall this Xmodem i6a^b«?:.«*-r'>A!'"S

far-bound Macadam. *- j.~ It is hcSSe where venture information gathered first hand;'" and . from personal observation during- *'» lengthy vjsit in Europe. No kind." o'E " tar macadam or bitumen surface is, 1 think, advisable where the grade of a, ; road exceeds 0110 in thirty-five. A \vell- Jinstructed macadam road bound with 1 ' its own chippings (about 17 jper cent.), '*, with a.coat of distilled tar, is probably, '.Slt,'.\TO : can run just now. Tar macadam;)is bettor (but then there is the cost)~J'» If tar macadam is adopted tko which need not be as hard as flint, j should first bo heated to expel all mois- % ture,, .then treated in vi.;, mechanical k { gmgejjfto a Jtjjygilso headed,a, cool£ or- even-seasoned somo.j; months. In England I saw miles of road; j« with heaps.of'tarred stono or slag from-, "%» XEPV* lying alongside, re^dy/,: ■to bii 'applied'when sufficiently seasoned, jj This makes a good road, capable'; of) traflic. In all cases !'. jtlie w ( ell rolled, and herein il!, •think Kes'ilio'great fault of of!? our roads. No road can bo considered,.' good without amplo rolling. How feff>? county councils own a, road-roller,! ; Every county should own one. I liavei ■■ seen them in England- ten' or fifteen miles from their at thein work of rolling. A 4na<wdamvroad:.with-,, out a roller is about as'reSsoriablo a ship without a rudder.'. Wei;. should', ;have infinitely better *oadsjiiow--ii wan mors, aiid,'/used- good: 'material, but modern methods 'sliould'lie^'dq^, 6 ?' ■ bfeing in the long rd'n much' tii'ocliftapbrij Indeed, it is asserted fliatiiu Ven-ycaf's'. the whole cost of a modern: l>itilnioii is saved in maintonanfcb.! 1 • i 'i-lt must nbtjHhowevbiW .ho thought;' I'tfiatf a tar macadam &n<|n.;i 'is going to"lfist cver3i\d,without Tar., in jjrcttx'v*<;ll aiiy, "form : ''i'e<i.uircs .rWbating,'about fcveryr 12. ..nJoiithsta A' clieap mbth'od ..'obtains iVt'j so,mo iJattSj.but this also .jerjuires rathinv frcq'uen¥' ; renewirig- •under''- fairly i heavy \ traffic. On a wcll-mado macadam Mad / pour boiling tar, then sprinkle over a c thick, ponting.. of screenings J •rromi-hnrd-Vroek,-.' tar-^again., and roll. > 'tliis sk'in seals the'road arid lasts two i or three years without renewing. V". i 55 Tito'ideal nikv'?

, If, however, a real proper road is to J be' made,'and' tlio-money found to do; it, { •my opinion is_ that noticing equals ; macadam 'base,' with a' coating of bitu- » Tliis, fqr,,cities or country town's is an ideal road, No cement concyclp ; is required, simply four inches of-tar 1 ; macadam, nndfor a country road, say, ■• lull'-inch , thick of bitumen. rolled; ii\ ; pluem- This road : will 'last for 20 01; 3JI » yrers, with very little maintenance.;; Ail * i'.v'i'lli'iiV'liiusli,'too,'Tor'a'roatl surfaco, ! ;iv.l|o)'fi.,tlie;lifilf-in,oli of, .'more.of bitufrqU J' may bcV considered too costly, and mfcrg« j ly an ordinary macadam road exists;, is • pcrahiro, and well grouted into the roail!, surface. just,.Kiiflieientjo. fill t-bo voids,?; TiiiK.'vl wa«-liVformediu England,*» "'wiUV'liisf-. A'si'ural renow-t-< >.ne«l~^'W^S..'W o^'"Wa PP^ oa *' onß tar oi" hitujnelVshould;be applied in nnd \vhou--the surface freest from moisture. There is nothing!?. .jiiai;ic in Jts Jnrmjilion. Any county ej|l§* gineor- could acquiro 'thßTart.«dfettstns"i%

and, to use .111 American expression, "it is u road that, stay* put. .No doubt now that tlu> scientific treatment of bitumen is established, it is die real thing for roadmakuig. Many failures originally ooi'urrod, as is iik'vit:<lile with the introduction of now methods, lint now to a largo extent the personal element is eliminated, and science has asserted tlio mastery. Wiih tho theoretical knowledge. jKis'ii'Ssrd liv the engineer, ouiiplrd nitii practical kumv!cdt;i\'which is within his roach, I an, satisfied thai by lulnplinn filch a method wo shall lay tho foundation of a system for which generations to enmo will bios:; us. Every county council or road board, whether it has an engineer or not, lieforo launching; out 011 the adoption of any scheme* or method urged on it by intorostod parties, would do well to first submit tho proposition to the Public Works Department, and sool; tho advice of a competent < Hirer, who has lately visited the seals of practice, no (lonl)t much to his enlightenment, and who should be competent, to advise local bodies as to tho host methods lleing > public officer,. I have no doubt if apCroaehed through proper channels, tho encfit of his c!S|K>rienoc will be imp.irtedto all interested in this very important subject. The political nsprrt must bo left to our Parliamentary representatives. Tho present Government aro alive to the necessities of the situation, and no doubt will bo able to impose such taxation as may provide for the cost of new road undertakings. It appears evident that tho (iorcrnment must in tho near futnro tako over the main roads, as they have already done in Victoria, and niaungo them through the Public Works Department, giving ns a standard method of roadmaking at the least possible cost, present and future. No man who owns a vehicle of any kind should hesitate or object to epecinl taxation, for a road properly constructed will not only add k. ilis ease and comfort, but by the reduced tractive effort required more than compensate for til? initial cost'ln- the saving of wear nnd tear and consumption of oil or coal in power-driven machines.