COUNTRY ROADS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 142, 17 June 1914, Page 14

COUNTRY ROADS.

IN PROCESS OF 'EVOLUTION PAVING THE~WAY FOR THE MOTOR. (By Sydney A. Ri Mair:) The roads problem, like the poor, is always with us, but at no time during the history of our Dominion has it been more acute than, at the present. Wherever we go, north or south, into the city Or the backblocks, we find the cry : "The more we pay, ihe worse are otu* roads," and "Give us good roads.!' And why is this? The man whose business it is to study _ the problem can answer. Firstly, until very recent _ years, there has been no concerted action to either train men or seriously grapple with the problem ', secondly, there has been an entire evolution of traffic j and, thirdly, a mistake has been made in attempting to build roads to-day in thb same,manner and at the same cost as was done twenty to thirty years ago. In the past every road builder has struggled on independently, in his . own tinpot way, knowing little and caring less what the rest of the world were doing, so long as his old standard could be kept up without increasing _ his levies. His ratepayers asked notlung, and expected nothing more. While the world progressed, road builders slumbered. The initial advent of pneumatic traffic wag hailed as the natural solution — but what a rude awakening there was, as we shall see ! THE COMING OF THE MOTOR. To get back to the practical part of

face, tearing off -the, blinding \in dry weather in a cloud' of, dust and a hail Of ■pebbles, in wet weather in jets of/ mud* of -a varying consistency. Once loosened from its water-bond, the metal becomes subject to "road waves," 'or becomes .pushed into ridges, imperceptible at first, but increasing in rapid, ratio With the traffic as the car-weight actuates on its springs. '' HAVOC OF MOTOR' TRAFFIC Sceptics there are who -still aver that motor traffic does no excessive damage ■per running ' mile, but a visit to the Bulls-Greatlord- road in Lower ,Rangitikeif County, I think, will soon' convince them. This is a typical .country road, metalled 12 feet wide and some 16 to 24 inches deep. About six months ago it was scarified and rolled with a ten-ton roller and left with a perfect surface, fit to withstand all ordinary traffic. Today, as you pass over it in a motor - ,car after 'rain" and there are the road waves, like saucers, full of water. GRAPPLING WITH THE PROBLEM. Over' the whole civilised world of the present day, road builders are grappling the problem as it is, and with a fair measure of success. "Better roads" associations and "roads improvement" associations have sprung into existence throughout the Old and New Worlds to educate the public and road-builders meet in congress under all nations. Everything has been tried, starting with the old macadam rolled in water-bond to tar-concrete, tar-macadam, tarsealed macadam, Bituco, Tarvia. Kortfelt, and a doZeij other patent and other methods, and, lastly, plain cement con-

the Romans of old, we must now build thoroughly, not for to-day only, but for all time. " An interesting relic of the old Roman roads was lately exhibited at the National Roads Congress, London, and fully demonstrates the system adopted in the early ages. COUNTING THE COST. MOTORS SHOULD HELP TO PAY*. . One other aspect that must short* ' ly be seriously dealt with by our legislators is a reasonable tax on motors of all classes. Undoubtedly the car is j transferring to an enormous extent the passenger- and goods traffic from rail to road in a widely distributed manner, and the taxation cannot bo approached in any local „way. In Britain the car tax produces a>revcnue running into millions. This is 'collected by the General Government and t devoted to road-build-ing purposes with tho result that the road standard is steadily improving. SUGGESTIONS TOWARDS SOLUTION. The problem in this Dominion bristles with difficulties, and, can only be dealt with by a properly, constituted. Commis-; sion having a thorough knowledge of the economic and practical phases of the question. One idea that may be welded into a practical solution is to tax the motor spirit used and distribute the proceeds among the local bodies within whose jurisdiction are the main car routes of the Dominion, the subsidies to be spent by the local bodies on such routes. Admittedly debatable as the subject is, the time is near at hand when cars "must directly contribute to the upkeeps of roads,' and tp my mind, however this is done, the proceeds should be placed in- a. central fund, arid a special officer appointed to the car traffic on the various main routes, and apportion the revenue in the form of grants and subsidies to local bodies maintaining these roads, in proportion to the traffic they carry. The intermittent car traffic on by-roads need not |be taken into consideration, as these roads are not generally subject to tour- ! ing traffic from over the whole Dominion. PRACTICAL METHODS. The cost of a macadam country road, of course, varies in accordance with cost of materials, but to seal it with, a tar preparation, when once properly constructed, the cost is fairly constant throughout, being contingent only upon cost of coarse gi'itty sand, and freight and .cartage,, of the coating substance used. On the West Coast the cost works out at about 2id,per cubic yai'd for one coat, and 4£d for two coats, of crude tar seal, and from 7d to 9d per' cubic yard for Restar and Solta'r seal, which - gives from -g-inch to -f-inch tough resilient, ■silent, non-skid .surface, or roof, to the macadam. In a -country, road 12 feet wido this is approximately £66 per mile for tar seal, one 'coat, to £264 ; per mile for prepared tar seal*-! inch thick* Such work will save enormously the wear of , ordinary motor traffic, and, also justify j the expense, not only in coßt of maintenance of road and car, bub in the pleasure of travelling over a good surface j in comparison to a bad one. ' WHERE THERE IS NO METAL. . Another serious aspect in tho country roads problem is tho absence of metal or gravel of any sort over vast areas of rich and settled country. In the great belt of rugged papa country between the Rangitikei and the Mokau, and alsp in much of tho East Coast, tin's disability is very acute.; In the Rangitikei and several other districts the burning or calcining of papa clays is being carried on with varying degrees of success. During the last few years the writer has successfully treated some ten to twelve miles in this manner, and the result, in both cost and quality, compares very favourably with the average metalling of backblock roads under similar conditions. However, in many places where these> conditions i obtain, firewood is unprocurable, and difficulties of transport prohibit bringing in fuel from outside, so the task of _ metalling appears hopeless. Here, again, is the opportunity for road builders, by combination of knowledge and experience, to design a method of calcining by induced

front, should be considered a national and not a local responsibility. The general introduction of' motors for commercial purposes intensifies this conviction. However, while agreeing that the general Government should assume, in a, largo measure, the responsibility for proper construction and upkeep of such main lines, it is acutely debatable whether their responsibility could not be hotter met by contributing to the local body's funds than by assuming direct control. Every local body so situated should haye — and if they haven't the Government of the day should see that they are so constituted as to enable them to haye — a proper road-building plant and a staff directly in touch with the people in the members of the local body. This staff should be in a better position (with their local plant and knowledge of local conditions) to build and maintain roads effectively for district requirements, provided, of course, all expenditure was generally supervised by the district office of the Public Works Department as at present. ' THROUGH LOCAL BODIES. It may be agreed that local bodies are so small that they cannot keep an efficient plant and staff, but, as before hinted, this is a, matter in which the Government should not shirk. It should see that every local body is of sufficient sizo and of assured finance. It will, I think, be generally conceded that an efficient local body can more readily cater for local requirements than the Public Works Department, whose office may be located altogether in another district, and who have not the advantage of a local road-building plant, etc., and are not in direct touch with local conditions. WANTED— BETTER SYSTEM OF PUBLIC WORKS. For some years there has been growing up steadily a feeling of the want of some better system for the allocation of Public Works appropriations for roads, bridges, etc. At present tho whole matter is vested in the Government of the day, and frequently the applications made by responsible local bodies for sunis for purely development works are turned aside in favour of works of much less importance. 16 must be generally agreed' that the backblocks, whero settlers have been placed upon the land, should have prior claim upon any funds available for development. A solution of the difficulty has been looked for in the much-mooted "Graduated Subsidy," and tho classification of districts according to their requirements. However, for many reasons, such a scheme can tteither bo equitable nor workable. \ REASONS AGAINST "GRADUATED SUBSIDY." ■ These factors in. the problem may be briefly given as follow :— (1) The intermingled and varying nature of the country; hilly, undulating, and flat, and tho .varying meteorological additions obtaining. (2) Tho prune cost of metal &ttd other road-building materials and their quality. (3) The means of communication, whether the district is well or poorly ierved by railways, navigable rivens, or main thoroughfares. (4) The density of population, whether the 'district is closely >or sparsely settled. (5) Tho Tclativo productiveness in proportion to the rates levied. (6) The proportion of good or poor laud in a district, ov of reserves, temporary or permanent, and of other non-rateable lands. Generally these conditions obtain in, rural districts, which are more or less intermingled, and which it would be well-nigh impossible to classify into areas sufficient in size- to work undGr a "graduated subsidy." THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE -A WORKS BOARD. The only alternative seems to be to set up some authority with a discretionary power, such as our Land Boards, which deal bo satisfactorily with our Crown lands: Such a board, called "Works Board" or "Roads and Bridges Board," would consist of practical engineers and men of commercial and farming experience, and should have a Very complete knowledge of I backblock developments. All applications for grants and subsidies from tho public funds for cotoitry development would then como before the board and be dealt with according to their urgency and the money at tho board's disposal. The complete allocations of the board would bo brought down in Parliament, embodied in the Public Works Estimates in theusual manner. The 'authorities could then be itsued to local bodies and the district road engineers for expenditure, as is at present done. The- board could keep in touch with the country by personal visits of inspection^ and through inspecting officers in a similar manner to that adopted with the Land Boards •by their Crown Land Rangers.

methods of construction and maintenance of roads Mill be immediately effected. The change must of necessity be gradual. _ In the meantime engineeis are faced with the problem of providing temporary remedies. For this purpose \ arious methods of surface dressing have been tried on roads, and in most of these tar, in some form or other, plays a_ conspicuous part. Saline solutions and oils have been used with more or less success, but are now practically abandoned. Tar-spra.ying is a very popular remedy, and many hundreds of miles of roads have been, treated with this process ; but engineers realise that the truest economy necessitates somethiug more permanent than a thin coat of tat and sand which requires renewing every few mouths. Next to tar-spraying comes, tho somewhat more costly surface treatment with any of the various tar compounds that ha\ r o been evolved during the past few years— their name is legion. Much can be said for this treatment, tho result being a carpet of from to in thickness, which adds considerably to the life of roads so treated. The more elaborate and permanent methods of improved construction and maintenance range from the concrete road with a bituminous wearing surface down to the simple method of sealing newly-laid macadam with a grout of pitch and sand. The question as to which of these methods is more suitablo to our requirements in New Zealand is one which is occupying the attention of local bodies and engineers today. With this- in view perhaps the experience _ and conclusions arrived at by tho writer of this article may be of some slight general interest. DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE , ELTHAM COUNTY. Some three years ago the Eltham County Council authorised some experiments in tar-spraying, and the most suitable machinery was obtained. About

twelve miles of roads were tar-sprayed and sanded at a cost of 2jd per square yard. After some two years of actual wear, during which period tho tarring and sanding has been renewed twice, I am compelled to admit that, so far as Taranaki is concerned, this treatment is a partial failure. The principal reason for this is the nature of the local stone. The first essential to successful Biuface-spraying is a first-class road surface free from dust. This, with the peculiar nature of tho local stone (an inferior igneous basalt), it is quite impossible- to obtain. Owing to the interstitial wear tho body of the road becomes impregnated with dusty detritus, even though thoroughly consolidated by rolling and watering during construction. As it is impossible to remove the dust entirely, no matter how carefully the road is swept, there will bo a thin film on tho stones, and this prevents perfect adhesion between the tar and the metal. The result of thie is soon shown by the flaking and crumbling of the tar and sand, and consequent roughness of surface after repeated sprayings. _ While granting that the surface-spraying is only a- partial success, it must be admitted -that the treatment has saved a very great amount of wear on the roads bo treated, and has more than paid for itself. THE USE OF RESTAR. To try and obviate the flaking tendency and the necessity for such frequent renewals, the writer turned his attention to the heavier tar compounds for surface dressing, and as the result of experiments has produced a material which is known as restar. The > object aimed at was- to produce a material that would form a road carpet of about £-in in thickness which would retain its resilience and elasticity. Some eight miles of roads have already been treated with restar and river shingle, with, so far, rather gratifying results. The portion longest laid-^some 70 chains— has been down over eight months, and is to-day,

apparentlyj none the worse for wear. The present price of applying restar is from 5d to 7ct per square yaid, according to locality. As with tar and sand, Ihis process must be regarded as of a more or less temporary nature, as it requires partial renewal every two or three years, and the writer is forced to the opinion that the more elaborate methods will eventually prove the most economical. ON A MORE ELABORATE PLAN. Of these the most suitable for New Zealand country roads will bo found among the various methods of bituminous seal, lv making a choice of these local conditions mast be considered. Where the stone is of first-class quality, the chippings from the crusher treated with any of the well-known tar compounds and rolled in with tho stone, will give' hi6st satisfaction. Where the stone is of inferior quality And there, is an available supply of good, sharp sand and shihgle, tins similarly treated will give good results. At the present time the writer is laying one _ mile (of new mdcadam and is , sealing with river shingle and restar. In the Eltham Borough may be seen vvhat can bo done with ,ti grout of ordinary boiled tar and shingle with a final coat of tar _ and sand, ( the cost per squareyard running .out at about Bd. Thesuperiority of this work compared with the old water-bound road is very marked. A PAYABLE PROPOSITION. . Any of the foregoing methods shouW be well within the means of local bodies having the maintenance of country roads, on which there is a growing motor traffic, and_ I am satisfied that money so spent will be repaid many times over in the added life of the roads. In New Zealand, where the average wealth nethead of the population is much higher than in the older European countries, it will necessarily follow that a far greater average number of the population will own cars. At the present rate of increase in number of cars on the roads,

the day is not far distant when local bodies will be compelled, in self defence, to adopt some of the various mo! hods outlined. In America and paits of Europe ooncivk? is plajing a \ory prominent pait in modern' roadmaking, and it is probable that m the cities' and larger boroughs in New Zealand it will also obUin a considerable prominence, In certain_ country districts ■where- there is no available s-lone, and where traffic and i other conditions warrant a heavy initial outlay, it is possible that its use may be advocated : but it is not likely to come into general use fop country roads. ' WORK FOR LOCAL BODIES. When the use of tav^for loadmaking was practically confined to cities and large boroughs, and the proper methods of tar preparation were unknown outside laboratories, the success of bucli work was dependent on the judgment and <?x» perience of the man m charge of the work. The tar was generally boiled in an open boiler, subject to great fluctuations o^ temperature. In uome cases ib was boiled Tot' t a specified number of hours, irrespective of the nature and consistency of the tar i in i others boiling wns carried to such a point as was decided by the man in, charge. The consequence of such haphazard methods naturally led to many disappointing results, and therefore many local bodies feared to undertake this class of work. To-day, as the result of careful experiments and tho recording of data, tar refining is reduced to a science, and there are many companies in existence, under various names, solely engaged in the scientific preparation of tar for roadmaking purposes. Many reliable works ore published on the subject of road binders and tar mocadani, and the London Hoad Board has issued a stall" da rd set of specifications relating to tho tar treatment of roads. With this in» formation freely available, no local body need hesitate to undertake- this class of w ork.

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