CONCRETE ROAD FORMATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 October 1918, Page 3

CONCRETE ROAD FORMATION.

CONSIDERED BY TARANAKI COUNTY COUNCIL duced A l'- Comt y Cou ™l, intro" SS e^roir Zf i th \ I" speaking the countv. entirely new tmffio had P«* an lection TndTtT °" r ° aa CM!tbat something , n »V OW rcco^^l county laes " tnin ° n tl,e IsealinV was L V\ yeavs a S° *"• "1 Id p ed 7 P ; ,ded ' aml the coun- «"">■ However B «Tk' n tl,at di ""- eouncil had la st 'p P \ ' & 'f yeaM ' the chains of ta Iw 7- laid do "' n 75 'Ming and about T* '" the omata ■road in the " S ° f tar " sealed tag about £ll I[ aT \ ndm Z> the cost bea»d £I for thai ° I"'" f ° r tlle f °»*<* ong run andlad been taken u D in Fn* ' resenVpS « look ahead and take the bold course of adopfng the latest methods £,?. verts crossings, and footpaths mostly cement, and wherever possible tte council's bridges were to be of ferro concrete, and it was becoming more "p. parent every day that cemenTwould oadVavs t"\f 33 the material of tt l ' ? 6 theU B» Te the tte »bers of the council some information regard"g the results of the use of concrete |nAme r Pmr to 190.9 there w m that country 799,390 square yards of [Concrete roads, and each year there h ad r, a oo n,arked till in \m about 22 583,577 square yards was laid down m that . vear . He then went en o deal with the cost of construction, which he said was not so great considering the saving m upkeep, for if properly laid down concrete road maintenance is prac teally built in with the first cost, tl reore, with such trifling cost for " . tenance the usual road rates could be used for more concrete construction, He estimated the cost of a 1G feet road? vM an average depth of 7 inches'at £3O per chain, or £2,400 per mile. Recently |an experimental piece had been put [down , a the main street of Pahktua ; measuring 140 feet by 20 feet with a .thickness of 5 inches, and the cost had been 3s 6d per square yw d. He safd therefore, that an 13 feet road with 5 | inches of concrete would cost about £24 ;per chain to construct. He then referred to the cost of maintenance of the Mam South road, as far as'Puniho road winch was over £250 per mile, or £4375 per annum. Tf the road were laid down ,in concrete, the highest cost for maintenance would be £ls per mile or £263 per annum, a saving of £4112 He affirmed that a concrete road- became stronger with age. Assuming the life of the road to be 20 years, he said the first cost would be £42,000 and the upkeep for 20 years would be £5260, or a total of £47,200. The macadam road in maintenance alone would cost £B7»00 in the same period, or a saving o'n the concrete road of £4o,24o—enoVb. to build another concrete road if required. If all the county roads were put down in concrete the saving on maintenance would be enormous, that on the South road alone being sufficient to lay down 1% miles of new concrete road each year

Summarising the advantages of the concrete road Cr. McAllum said it would enable the farmer to haul two loads in one trip it would reduce strain on horses, wear on vehicles and harness; reduce the tyre and fuel expenses for motorists, as well as wear and tear on engine and body; it did not require surface dressing, and was always free from mud and dust; it saves more than it cost 3. In America it had been shown that the roads could be built o'n steep grades as much as 1 inch in 10, and in some cases 1 inch in OJ. The concrete road was not affected bv weather, water did not cause it to rot, but'increased its strength. Concrete was, in fact, the only relatively low nrat-eost material known to stand the strain of horse and motor vehicles under all conditions of weather The present method brought no lasting benefits, It should be possible to correct that by reorganising methods. Cr, McAllum then quoted from a speech by Mr C, H. Dunlop, an towa farmer, at the Chicago National Conference on concrete road building, which had been claimed to evidence the strong nation-wido cry for better and permanent roads. Concluding, Cr McAllum said on th matter of cost that the county could afford anything that was a forward step for the betterment of manhood, "if we only think so." He urged that the council should seriously consider the proposal, and when the time came, formulate some scheme for putting it into effect, commenting that a road along the coaßt would be a great means of feeding a deep sea harbor at New Plymouth.

Cr Connett (chairman) said the scheme was no doubt good, but he did not think the present was an opportune time for putting it into effect. Cr Morton said Cr McAllum deserved the thanks of the council for putting the matter before'the members as he had done. It was clearly evident that the time was coming when it would be impossible to obtain supplies for the present system of road making. He approved the system of making a permanent road way, as fhe\ first cost would practically be the last cost. He thought the ratepayers would be brought into line with the idea, an 3 if the matter were put before tliem and they saw the advantages of the system, they would willingly provide the money for the initial cost. The future would demand the making of permanent roadways. Cr J. Andrews referred to the IraiHing of the coastal railwsty, which he claimed would be a better feeder for the harbor than any. concrete road conld be. Cr Lawrence said the roads as at present constructed would not carry the traffic they were required to, even with a railway right alongside. Cr Wooldridge approved the proposal for use of concrete. - Cr McAlhim in some further lemiiks said the surprising djfienence in the amount of power needed to katri loads on different kinds of'roads wsa shown in some tests recently made. The re-, sistance to a track's power offend by a

road 821b; by a concrete road to which had been added some oilier surfacing material 501b; while the best showing of all, namely 301b per ton was made on a smooth concrete highway, to, which no other surface dressing had been applied. On tile motion of Or Morton, seconded by Cr. Wooldridge, a very hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Cr McAllum for the information he had placed before the council.

In replying, Cr McAllum said he recognised that the system could not be adopted at uncn, but he hoped the ratepayers would consider it, and that in the meantime the council should suspend the tar-sealing process until it came to a decision with regard to the concrete.