SAWDUST ROADS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 38, 1 October 1914, Page 3

SAWDUST ROADS.

The Clerk, Nanango Council (Queensland), responding to an enquiry from a N.S.W. Council wrote: “Relative to-the use of sawdust for road-making, I have to advise that the main street at Blackbutt was in a, very bad state after heavy rain and one of the councillors had a crossing made for pedestrians, using sawdust. He noticed that the sawdust miving with the mud made a hard cake, and that heavily-loaded timber waggons crossing over it made no impression. Upon the representations of the councillor and the overseer, the Council decided to experiment and to put down a layer of sawdust about five or six inches thick for a distance of about ten chains on the road to the railway station, where there is considerable timber traffic. This work is to bo done after the next rain so that the sawdust will become mixed with the earth by the teams. It is not considered advisable to put it down in dry weather.

“I shall bo glad to let you know the result of the experiment. You will see that it is too early to say whether the sawdust is a success, but it is understood it has been used in America and other parts of the world. A publication, ' “Building,” published in Sydney, referred to the matter recently, and has invited Local Government engineers in New South Wales to expres their views. If we are successful with sawdust at Blackbutt, it will mean a great saving in road construction, and in addition will find a use for an article which, in a timber locality, is generally considered to be a nuisance.”''