The Problem of the Road.*
Page 7
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It is necessary to consider the great change which has come in connection with the usage of the road during the last 12 years. Just as the railways took the place of the roads and gradually diverted the heavy traffic and enormous traffic of man and beast from the old highway, so the new motor traffic is working in an opposite direction, and many people who used to travel by train now travel by road, and an enormous quantity of heavy goods have returned to the highway, and t his traffic, as all experts are aware, has a very detrimental effect on the old water-bound roads, not only on account of the suction which is produced by the rubber tire, but also by the greater velocity of the vehicle.
Effect of Tramrails.
In my own district of Wolverhampton, several traction engims, carrying loads amounting in all to nearly 60 tons in ■ Jne train, periodically come through the borough, and not only damage the surface, but also the foundations. In districts where tramways are laid in the highway (mid throughout the kingdom there are several thousand miles), the sides of the roads between the rails and the kerbs have generally to take the ordinary traffic. On a much 'smaller area of road eurface, consequently, the wear and tear on that portion is lunch more severe, especially as, with one wheel on the outside tramrail and the other on the breast of the road, the result is a longitudinal rut extending from end to end of the road.
In areas where wood paving and granite paving are out of the question, either on account of the cost, smile, gradient., or tor any other reason, bituminous macadam road of one sort or another seems up to the Present to have been the best solution of this question.
Foundationless Roads.
There is one difficulty the surveyor finds in most. districts, which is that the foundations of the old roads, roads which have always been highways, and found often in the centres of large towns, are either without foundations at all, or of foundations quite unsuitable for modern traffic. In the past, no attempt was made in most, cases to make proper foundations, and many of our roads have simply stone or macadam of one sort or another laid upon the. natural clay or soil of the district,. Where this is so, a thoroughly-sound and properlydrained foundation of large pitchings must be made, and I have found that it is always an advantage, previous to pitching the foundation, -to roll in a thick coating of rough clinker, such as results from dust destructors. This material well rolled in prevents clay and other soft material working up through the. pitchers, and also prevents the. pitchers sinking into the ground. If .these foundations are laid and properly rolled and coated with whatever finishing material may he decided upen„ a good road should result, but nothing less will suffice. I have found that before making such a road into a tar macadam or waterproof surface road of any kind, it is advisable to let the ordinary traffic of the district use it for-several months, as an ordinary macadam road, waterbound. This allows for the necessary settlement, and it can be better done by the narrow-tired vehicles nf ordinary traffic than any amount of steam rolling. After this period is :Towed for .settlement, a bituminous surface or tar dressing can with safety and advantage be. applied.
Cost and True Economy.
With regard to the cost, this must vary in all districts, and so must also the use of various materials. Wealthy communities can afford to pay for the best materials, and can obtain them from any distance regardless of cost, and this is probably, after all, the most. economical procedure, Communities that are not so wealthy, and where local materials of a cheaper but inferior kind can be obtained, most be satisfied with the best they can get. I am sorry to say the district I represent. comes rather under the latter category, and, therefore, a great deal of slag is bound to be used because it is ready to hand and inexnensive. This, however, on a good foundation properly prepared and treated with bitumen answers the purpose extremely well fcr subsidiary roads, and T think I can show that 'Wolverhampton is not spending any more, or very little more, on its roads than it was 12 years ago, and you will probably agree with me that, however unfortunate this may be, slag treated in such a way serves
a useful purpose, and in spite of this non-increase of expenditure the roads are better than I believe they have ever been, though they are far from what. they should be and what the Streets Committeeand myself would like them to be.
Drainage of Roads.
Tt has been suggested by amateur road makers, and of these there seems to be DO end, that all the main country roads elmuld be concreted; if this were done, the cost per mile would be enormously increased, and I do not think the suggested foundation would answer the purpose as well as a pitched one for a tar macadam surface. Drainage is one of the main important factors in connection with the foundations of our roads.
A most important advantage of 'tar macadam and tarsprayed roads is the diminution of the dust nuisance; this, from a health point of view alone is extremely valuable and quite worth the outlay, but beyond this a. distinct economy is effected by the preservation of the road surface, the saving ill wear and tear, and the reduction in the manufacture of mud in wet weather. Thelength of tar-sprayed roads is increasing each year, and the author would like to see all the poorer residential streets, where unpaved, so treated. One of the present-day problems is how to obtain sufficient tar matadam to cope with the growing demand. The author finds it impossible to obtain all he needs in the best period of the year for laying it, and further plant. for turning out large quantities will have to be put down either by the municipal authorities or by private enterprise if the demand is to be met.
Traffic of the Future.
What shall I say of the future? I am inclined to think that the past and the present uses of the road are nothing to what the future will bring. It seems hardly possible for anyone to conceive the enormous extent to which the roads of the future will be need. People are at last beginning to appreciate fresh air and country life. In addition to this, the tramway and motor-omnibus services have made oppertit/litres for the pooreet to get. out into the country.
The land question will have a great bearing on the future use of the roads. If the purchase of land becomes drripliiied and cheapened, and if the natural love of fresh air and the beautiful is developed in the "rank and file" of the people of this country, they will take every opportunity offered them to get out and to live in the country. This natural inclination is being backed up, and will be backed up much more largely, in the author's opinion, by the great developments which are taking place in universal motor-omnikens services now in contemplation. Theeauthor will be surprised if it is not only simple and inexpensive in the near future for a roan in the Midlands to take his suit-case and stand at his door and hail some motor-omnibus which will take him —possibly at first with many changes—as far as he would like to go—even should it, be to the Highlands of Scotland, without troubling the railways—for the benefit of his health and for his holidays.
Restrictive Regulations or Better Roads?
Regulations with regard to the width of tires, etc.. were suggested by Parliament in the 18th century, and similar suggestions were made at the recent Road Congress. All these regulations seem to be but begging the question. Is it not wiser to look facts in the face and to construct our main reads with such foundations and such surfaces as will be able to take all sorts and conditions of traffic which may come along?
The days have gone by when we can limit certain roads to certain traffic and confine the manufacture of vehicles to certaiul weights, certain widths of thee, end other harassing details of that. nature. That (-air roads must he made good from top to bottom, that they must be widened where possible, that the cross roads must be opened ont so that the fast teaffic can sec what is approaching from other directiens, that ring roads must be made round our large towns to relieve the busy centres of through traffic, almost go without saying, but the sooner local authorities face these questions the lessexnensive the carrying out will be in the long run. The conc7thleien of the whole matter devolves itself more or less into a question of costa and as everyone admits better roads .ffte required more money will have to be found. Surveyors are not magicians, and are no renee able to make goad roads out of had materials than the Children of Israel were able to make bricks without straw.