GOOD ROADS.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 24 April 1919, Page 3

GOOD ROADS.

THE AMERICAN SYSTEM

Good roads are a feature of the American cities, according to Mr J. W. Marchbanks, engineer to the .Wellington Harbour Board. Mr Marchbanks paid paid attention to this subject during his recent visit to the United States, and h« was much impressed by the efforts the Americans have mado to create roads that will carry heavy traffic -with a maximum of ease and a minimum of wear aad tear.

The best American roads, says Mr Marchbanks, appear to have a concrete base, carefully laid down, with a covering of three inches of asphalt. Natural asphalt, or bitumen, is u»ed, and not tar. In some cases, the base is put down in two coats, with a fine wearing surface on top. The wearing surface was sometimes of asphalt concrete, two or three inches thick, with a ba.se qf concrete. The asphalt wearing surface is the smoother and gives the finer appearanoe, but the asphaltic concrete gives the better grip for horses and motors.

The smooth and fast concrete roads •are not without their disadvantages. They are slippery in wet and frosty weather, and it is found necessary in the cities to put down sand at such times'. Some of the cities have used vitrified brick for their roads, and this material gives very good results. At Seattle Mr Marchbanks saw some pavement of vitrified brick put down 20 years ago and still in fairly good order. H> saw at Buffalo asphalt that had been down 20 years. The city of Buffalo has 280 miles of asphalt [roads, and only 14 miles of qf macadam, The macadam road, in fapt, is regarded there as a poor road. Nearly all the American towns have now a proportion-of asphalt streets.