The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1901. THE UP-KEEP OF STREETS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 273, 20 November 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1901. THE UP-KEEP OF STREETS.

The question ot street maintenano is always one of very great important* whenever population becomes congested Just as good roads are one of the chie' factors in prosperous settlement, si good streets are vital to the welfare o townspeople. There are, however, on< or two matters connected with street: that have to be considered in additioi to the question of macadimising, 6ucl as the matters of dust and sanitation the desire of nil municipal antbnri ties being to have their streets copabL of bearing the traffic, and at the sami time clean and sanitary. In Aucklant this question has been causing consider able discussion and has resulted in th< adoption of asphalt. This decision wai only arrived at after a long diecussioi on a very exhaustive report by the citj engineer. As the matter is of grea' interest to everyone the report will be read with pleasure, in addition to whicl it contains a great deal of informatioi that will be useful to members of towi councils in Taranaki. The vepor stated:—"l have to report upon th< present system of road formation, etc. in Napier, the population of which to wi is about 9000, with 40 miles of r.ade The traffic is very light compared witl that of Auckland, and this fact, addec to a great natural advantage in tha the roads are formed out of the lime stone of the district, may have led t( the adoption of a system of tarring anc sanding the principal streets of thi town, which under these favourabli circumstances producrs a nica, clean smooth, and elastic surface which Feemi to answer all the local requirement! admirably. Shortly, the mode of pro cedare is this:—The roadway havinj been formed out of the natural lime' stone of the district, is covered witl three coats of tar and sand, averaging about one inch in thickness; the tn having been previously treated bj Waterworth's patent. This is a pro ceps of distillation, freeing the carbolii oil and ammonia, which by-products Mr. Waterworth informs me, are sole at a price sufficient to cover the cost o the process. The total cost cf the tar including the distillation, is 6d pei gallon, and it is sold to the public a 1 this rate. This system of tarring anc sanding makes a soft, elastic roadway but is, in my opinion, only suitable foi streets where traffic is moderate, anc where there is such an advantage as thi limestone formation which exists ii Napier. As Auckland does not possesi these advantages, I would suggest thi laying down of two small areas of tarrec metal, as a test, in one of the secondary streets say Symonds-street eacl area to be four yards in length, by the full width of the street; Mr Water worth's patent tar being used in thi preparation of the metal for the on< area, and Auckland boiled gas tar foi the other, The Napier Borough Council is sending me some of Mr Water, worth's patent tar for this purpose, and, with the Council's permission, I shall be glad to have the test properly carried out, and I would suggest that the patentee be invited to come to Auckland for this purpose. The total cost at Napier of tarring and sanding the roadway is 4|d per Fquare yard, and the cost of maintenance per annum is l|d per square yard. Upon my arrival at Wellington I called on Mr Roundthwaite, the city engineer, whe very kindly drove me round the city, -bowing me all the works in progress, including the formation of roads, steam rolling, etc. I also had the opportunity of observing a Morrison steam scarifier and roller at work, which is similar to the one ordered by the Auckland City Council, and which is now on its way here from England. The machine has given very satisfactory results, a great pecuniary saving beiug effected by it over that of band labour, as well as expediting the work of road repairing. The Wei ington roads are mainly composed | >f macadam, but metal ustd is of an inferior quality. A large proportion of the blinding used consists of soft sandstone, which I believe produces much dust in dry v/eather. Metal waste is also used with better results. Nearly the whole of the municipal works of the city of Wellington, including the collecting and the destrnc- ' 'ion of refuse, is carried out by day labour. The day labour st«ff consists of 180 workmen and 45 horses. The drainage system of Wellington is completed, and appears to have been admirably carried out, but as my time was of necessity limited, it was not possible for mo to enter into this matter. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr FergusOD, the engineer to the Wellington Harbour Board, who showed me the works, roads, etc., under bis control, of jyhich I mention the wood-blocking used on the wharf {and its approaches, the principal tim-

bars used being matai, totara, and jarrah. Some of the blocking had been ' laid down for a period of about eight years. There were signs of decay in ! many of the blocks, while others had been renewed from time to time. This is due, in my opinion, to the fact that it is impossible to obtain the simo quality and condition of timber in each block. The judgment of an expert may easily fail in this raspect. From what T could gather there, the Wol- i lington City Council his not yet decided upon the most suitable timber) to adopt for blocking the streets. 1 mention, also, the formation of tan el metal, which I saw in progress under Mr Ferguson, who was using boile I gas tar for the preparation of the metal, but; as this test was not completer! I cannot express an opinion as to ita durability. With regard to the p»vio» of Queen-street with wood blocks, the main features to be considered are: (a) Kind of timber, (b) quality and seasoning, (c) mode of laying and siz of blocks, (d) maintenance, (a) Ths tenders called for include several varieties of timbpr, and the question of the kind to be adopted is a matter to be decided by the parties interested, viz, the Council and the Electric Tramway Company. In my opinion jarrah—dalH jarrah-would be most suitable, (b) Whatever kind of timber be selected, it should be felled at the proper time of the year, and be thoroughly well seasoned. After the blocks are cu> they should be stacked under cover for six months in such a manner that they may ba thoroughly dried, (c) The blocking should be laid close jointed, on a concrete foundation, and the sizn of the blocks should be 9in. by 3in. by 6in., all as provided for in the specification, (d) The life of well-seasoned Australian hardwood blocking is conceded to be equal to about 21 years, and the average cost of maintenance over the whole of this period is about 5s 3d per superficial yard. With regard to the paving of Queen-strest with asphalt, I have given this my serious consideration, so as to enable me to advise the Council in it? adoption or otherwise of this material, and from what I have been able to glean from English and Continental source* and from personal interviews with experts, I have no hesitation whatever in recommending the adoption of this material for the paving of Queenstreet. It is the most sanitary of all I t materials, being non-absorbent. It is comparatively noiseless under heavy traffic, and produces no mud or dust, , and it is easily cleansed. It has been stated that it is of a slippery nature, but this is contrary to fact, provided the road be kept clean by means cf flushing with hydrants and the use of squeegees. Asphalt, as in the case of wood, must be kept scrupulously clean, and as asphalt presents an unbroken , surface, it affords every facility for this ! purpose. I quote for the inforraatiou \ of councillors an extract from a report on the construction and maintenance , of the streets of Sydney, dated July , 10th, 1901, by Professor Warreh, M.1.C.E., as follows:—'The advan . tages of asphalt roadways are that they ; diminish traction.; are not of themselves slippery; produce no duff, therefore no mud ; absorb no liquid or solid decomposed organic matter, and therefore emit no miasma under the ; hot blize of summer; asphalt affords , no element for fermentation, and is therefore hygienic par excellence. The limiting grade is lin 33. Compressed asphalt subjected to ordinary weir and tear will last without complete renewal for from 15 to 30 years. The . compressed asphalt laid in Cheapside in . 1870 resisted the central traffic of , I London for over 17 years, without I causing a single day's stoppage of , traffic; and there are streets in Paris , where the asphalt is over 30 years old. Asphalt shows no appreciable altera- [ tiou due to heat.'"