Page 3 Advertisements Column 4

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 7 December 1916, Page 3

CONCRETE 014 THE ROADS. « CONCRETE FOR BRIDGES. Full Particulars of a Most Welcome Innovation, as supplied in a Pamphlet issued by Wilson's Portland Cement Co. . Auckland. (Continued from week to week.) AMERICAN EXAMPLES. - Address by Edward N. Hines, Chairman Board of County Road Commissioners, Wayne County, Michigan, before the National Con. ferenae on Concrete- Ro id.Building, Chicago, 1914 : — "As soon as we were convinced that our concrete roads were the proper type of road construction, we began to devise ways and means of building them economically," says Mr Hines. That remark is significant in itself, but, as showing what enthusiastic organisation will accomplish, the speaker, in his concluding remarks, said: "In our localif-y we can build concrete pavements for halt' the cost per square yard of any othe» so called permanent pavement." By adopting the same up-to-date methods we could do the same. We shall have to do it some time. Why not organise and do it from the jump. We find from another part of the report of the above mentioned Conference that the average cost of all concrete roads in the State of Michigan, which includes Wayne County, is 5/3£ per square yard, but although we cannot place our hands on any definite statement giviug the average for Wayne County, we believe it is well below that price. Id Wayne County the roads built are mostly one-course concrete. Very few oth«r counties or States in America have as yet been quite as successful on the whole as Wayne County, many costly mistakes having been made by some of them through experimenting unwisely. Wayne County has gone straight along building practically the one class of road all the time as [carefully and strongly as she knew how. She has admittedly made mistakes iv the past, but her rrethods are now being largely followed in all parts of the country. THE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE. To give an idea of the strength of a properly-built concrete road, tho following letter to the Wayne County Commissioners sperks for itself:— Detroit, Mich., August 8, 1913. Gentlemen, —When we undertook to build our track across jour concrete road east of the village ol Wayne some weeks ago, we encountered a more difficult job than we had figured on. We intended to put this track across the road in as short a time as possible, and put a gang of about twenty men at work to brearc through the concrete road. We expected they would have the concrete removed in about tiiree hours. It took them, however, about fifteen hours. In order to breaic the concrete it >vas necessary to raise it with jacks and break it off in large slabs which then had to be broken into smaller pieces ts be moved off the highway. It was the hardest concrete that we have ever had to break through.—Yours '.truly, , " . ■ J. Kerwlv, Superintendent of Tracks, Detriot, Jackson, Chicigo Railway. STORY OF A WAYNE COUNTY CONCRETE ROAD. The following description of how they build their roa,ds, in Wayne County is also, taken, from, the annual repoit. It will prove interesting reading and serve as an example of up-tq-date methods ; — • After investigating- a road with rogard to traffic conditions, distances between objective points, number of people in the locality, etc , we recoin mend to the Board of Supervisors at their annual October session that the road be adopted and improved as a county road. The Board of Supervisors rejects, alters or adopts our recommendaticm,' If the road is adopted, a record is put into our minutes setting forth our determination to take over the road as a county road; the road is given, a, n,ame, usually one by wftich it is know looally ; th,at portion of our minutes showing our determination to adopt the ro^d is published for three Buc.ces.siye week§ ne.wep.aper having, a. cimiUtion. in, Wayne County and seryed upon the officials, of the township \n which %c, yqad, is'k>.pa.te,d. The rqad heco,m,es, a. &>uoto roatfwith fuU authority ve&fc^ v ' ecmty to. tan*— , ■*. \ n. ™c 4 auv»- - tIJ aa<* maintain it. •cy is made, plaus and profile prepared, and these, together with specifications and application for State reward, are filed with the State Highway Pepartment. Bids are asked for by advertisement (a perfunctory proceeding, as we have not contracted for any road construction for several years, nor have any proposals been received), which, when they are received, we have the authority to accept, awarding the contract to tho lowest responsible bidder, or to reject and do the work by rsay labour. After the road has be;m staked out, we prepare and shape the subgrade. , doing the majoi- portion of such work with scarifiers and graders, the hauling power for which is furnished bj steam engines ou rollers. Careful attention is given to the grade to ; eliminare soft, spongy places, and a ■ ten-ton roller is used to roll it hard, [No *