HIGHWAYS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 553, 30 July 1920, Page 3

HIGHWAYS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

l'or / PARTI, , .JE •i ' r.ilitorial Foreword:

In vii-w of the very great amount of 'ntciNest now being taken in the improvement of main arterial loads, and the evxtent to which such improvement of our internal ways of inter-communi-cation is bound to become an important factor of our progress the editor of the"Times" has invited a frequent contributor to supply a short series of articles deolinn with the subject.

The Genesis of the Highway.

sun,' was t ho dictum of King David's Rifted Hon, who, like our own King Jamie, i s credited with never having uttered aught but words „f wisdom. Certainly, at some time in the life of every nation that has aspired to lift fljtse" above the common ruck, the knowledge has come that good toads were a necessary step on the way to civilization, progress and prosperity, nnd if Solomon could come hack he would he able to toll us that in its season tho Jewish nation felt as strongly as others the call of the "modern road." With a truly Jewish eye to commerce he did not confine his energies to the erection of temples and a palace, hut built also paved roads for the conveyance of goods, and as he is reputed to have died extremely rich, no doubt these loads mateiially aided him in amassinp his fortune. Rut this is merely »n affair of yesterday. To go back to the very dawn of history, the sun-dried tiles of the Chaldeans with their uniform inscriptions give us full details of the excellent roads that radiated in every direction from Babylon, at a time when the Jews * wo,, e only a wandering tribe of herdsmen. Of early Egyptian roads w<> have even more definite details. For strength and durability their r».uds have probably nper been equalled. Their proclivity for hauling enormouse masses of stpne long distances made roads of the very first quality absolutely essential. Certainly, no modern roads or bridges could wrrj the heavy loads that were transported in early Egypt,

War and Commerce.

Tint undoubtedly tin* most fam' ou- and most successful ( ,f road-

makers were the Romans. Aspiring t<> a world-wide dominion, and gradually almost reai-sini» their >i.-.piia-ti..n ii/to a concruifl fact, they early divii'.i'd that :! would oe impossible to mawitai:' a great empire unless the roads between 'tliffcrent parts of it atlordt'r> t'.isy aihl rapid modes ol eommuni'' itvui. Aiul so, two thous ? A and years rt-o they built the 1 ojfdF , 'Which, nvPM to-day, are the wondei of the modern engineer,—anil theii despair also, if we may judge fvorr. £' ve >us anything apI ' fcroachinj them in quality. The Kni|L peror Claudius first inaugurated the lljpystem by constructing the celebrated "Appian Wgy,Stretching out be- * 'tween 300 and 400™les. Others foluntil »:t last thirty great hi-h .(« c\ery direction from C'ltj', and gave rise to the ' eiK ' *-° Rome." First Concrete Roads. Ip'fWfak people the concrete road appP.*\t"jWft» be iin entirely new idea, but it is really as old as the Appian and Flavian Ways. The Romans first invented, and then, in a wholesale maimer, applied Ihe principle. They laid the foundation of their roads ii. largv sto.iss grouted with cement, covered with a heavy dressing 01 broken stone similarly treated, am. surfaced with dressed stono setts al so cemented. They thus attained u smooth and durable service, giving fhe lightest possible traction, and al most imperishable. Some of theii roads are ir use to-day, and it is 01. record that, they required no repairt during the course of eight centuries. We hear u great deal nowadays about a "permanent road." Will our engineers eve: tt|tain as near actual per-

manency as that? Hand in hand with loads gu bridges, and if Romans excellei. in making roads, m the art fwibuild ing bridges they were supreme. In stead of our hideous modern con struct ions, which often shake them selves to pieces with a few years trallic, the Unmans threw across thei. fiver-* firaceful stone arches, some times of from ]f>oft to 200 ft, in i single span. Some of thase are ii use to-day, and as sound as ever. Ot n truth the lonuans did not built for the day alone, hut lor all Ifcic And b> this great along which her armies could marc! and her goods he transported Uonu was enabled to hold together an em pile as great, and almost as far Hung as our own. It was only whei the "go-slow" methods and luxurious habits of the people induced tin. Government to keep them in goot. Jiumour by free bread and frtv cir CUS|es —should 1 have written picture showa?—taxing; the fanner out of ex istence in doing so, that the empire began to crumble, as our own xureh will from the same causes unies.

some miracle inteivenes to arrest th« similar Jiv-rot which is .steadily destroying the fortitude and self rcli nnc<- of "ur citizens. W'ai i. lot fjenerally looked upoi .j<, v>;t< " Willi it|iprob.ilion, hut it i. rert-nr. 'hat during all periods oi J1Ist.ll y it has played an immcnsi ,ait in providing n'ooil roads. The 'innn'iiifii ♦ ;t highways >»f Indii; were originally crnstiucted lor the conveynnce of inanitions oi war; the ceaseless martial activities of Alexa'ule", Hannibal and Nnp<»!eoi le|£ their mhrk behind them in many ftytTVonds; and even in this little

country the army ina&i the ,'irst roads that could ; >o dignified by .-uioh

a name. In 1845 they constructed & ro«|fls in the Bay of Islands V wWch nr« still in use. In

1863

Yet it wns reserved for the Great War to see the execution of tb< greatest dioiljmi tenuis, but as thi. irticle is long enough a descriptio of it will have to be left for a fu ture instalment,