IMPROVING ROADS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 225, 28 January 1911, Page 9

IMPROVING ROADS.

All the macadamised roads within the area controlled by the Melbourne City Council will be tarred this year, says the Argus of the 26th ult. The "tarspra"— which can he scented from afar—is at work steadily. The same work was carried out experimentally last year, but, owing to the coal strike, the quality of tar obtained was not satisfactory, and much better results in the direction of dust prevention are expected from this season's operations. In a residential street a single tarring will give a rainproof, dustless surface, but where the traffic is heavier, the process may have to be repeated at shorter intervals. The scent of the freshly-tarred surface, though pungent, is not unpleasant. The men working round the "tarspra." however, remark that it is possible to have too much of a. good thing. For the first two or three days they suffer from headache, and then everything appears to taste and smell of tar—an effect that is accentuated when there is no tar anywhere near. Another effect is that they become tanned a mahogany brown, as though from deep sunburn. Nor will anv amount of washing remove the tint. When the tarring has been completed tile civic authorities expect that Melbourne City proper will, comparatiecly speaking, be dustless. If this can be secured, as estimated, at. Id per square yard of roadway tested, it is a luxury that may be counted as cheap at the price.