ROAD SURFACING

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 45, 21 August 1931, Page 5

ROAD SURFACING

, Referring .to; letters on road surfacing^ •Roading" writes: "The following nj a y assist in deciding, ■which is the most economical surfacing: The costs of sonui of the Auckland roads, are: Queen street, 8 inches thick, 9s per square yard, dat« laid 1918. ' Market road, 7 inches thick, 8s per square yard, date laid 1918. King1 * Wharf, 8 inches thick, 9s, ;per equara yard,.date laid 1918. Concrete roads in England and America are ■ carrying- 50 and 60 tons almost every day. , Xh« heaviest load to my knowledge • ion'; the English, roads is 110 tons. - Tljisj however* did not travel at 35 miles per hour.'. ■• A bitumen road is better than a roacadaitf road, as it will stand faster traffic, ) but- 4 concrete road is better than a bitumen: road, as it will stand still faster traffic and also, carry the heaviest'of. loads." .: , Cement costs £4 10s per ton, or 5e per bag; gravel delivered in city, 8s per cubic yard... At;threebags:per cubic, yard this is 15s, phis Bs, or 23s per cubic yard, plus mix jg Is, spreading Is, overhead charges Is, preparing, ground Is per 'square yard, contingencies Is, equal to. 28s pcrv ciibia yard," or 7s per square yard" Iridr Front these figures it can be seen that a con- . crete road 9 inches deep can ■be laid for 7s per square yard. Some o£ the advan. tages of concrete are: A good grip foe horse and motor; horses can travel on steep grades; higher speeds with less acei. dents; does not become slippery or sticky;' will carry heaviest of loads; good vision at night; keeps capital in our country J gives much more employment; longer lif« x to roads. Concrete spans weak places in, the foundation and does hot/ wave .' or corrugate; has a non-skid surface, and is cheaper to lay. The life'of a road is [in the quality of stone-used. Bitumen fin purely a binder, it has little resistancs to -.rear, whereas concrete can be made • to give as much resistance ■to wear as tha stone used. It in. itself is a stone, and not merely a binder." ' . ■ ■ -