NO MORE HEAD-ON COLLISIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22356, 29 February 1936, Page 11 (Supplement)

NO MORE HEAD-ON COLLISIONS

Safety Lawn Between On

ENGINEERING FEAT TO COST OVER £BO,OOO

JN New Jersey a remarkable job of road reconstruction is being carried out. An eight-mile stretch of wide concrete road is being Bplit down the centre and one section pushed sideways to provide a 12-foot safety strip of lawn between the two sections of concrete, thus separating vehicles travelling in opposite directions. The plan for shifting half the road is probably unique in the history of road construction. A plough-like blade drawn by a steam roller removes the bituminous material which binds each 30-ton slab of concrete. A flat piece of ljin. hose is then laid along the inner edge of the slab. The Spraying of Pistons I i A well-known engineering jj firm in England is featuring 5 the building up of worn pistons ; by spraying metal on them. j Even aluminium pistons are | sprayed with cast iron, thus ] giving an ideal bearing surface, j yet retaining all the advan- j tages of the aluminium com- j ponent. The process is stated ] to be inexpensive. j

Statistics of this road show that 45.5 per cent of the accidents have involved cars travelling in the same direction, while in 21.2 per cent of accidents cars approaching each other from opposite directions have been involved.

During 1934 90 people wore killed on this stretch. It is thought that the splitting of the road and the provision of a safety island between the two streams of traffic will go far towards minimising accidents. In Europe, many of the major highways recently laid down are being constructed on the divided principle, eliminating the hazards of head-on collision.

hose is filled with air under high pressure, and its expansion moves the slab outwards about an inch. A 6in. hose is then inserted in the crack and inflated. This moves the slab a further four inches. The operation is repeated, heavy timbers being placed in the gap for packing, until each section of concrete, 35ft. long by 14Jft. wide, is placed in position on its new prepared foundation. Four 4in. holes are then bored in each slab, and liquid concrete poured in, securely anchoring the slabs. The undertaking is estimated to cost £BO,OOO. It was calculated that the reconstruction work would proceed at the rate of 800 feet a day. The eight-mile stretch of split road is to serve as a proving ground.