10 



MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



WE ARE BEHIND THE a ' U)rst drawn vehicle is apt to be more or chines have come and come to stay. It should 



TI1V/II7C /~IM fTinn DfkArtC ' ess dust >' or muddy an( -l w '" not withstand no longer be a question for us to try experi- 



1 IMt-O UlN \j\J\JD rCLJALJij the traffic of the automobiles if they are run ments. Different materials have been tried 



at the high rate of speed that they are at many times and in many different ways. 



Paper presented at the Second International present. If the law were enforced restricting During the twenty years that I have been 



Road 1'ongress.. Hrussells, Belgium, July 31 to the speed of the automobile to not more than actively engaged in this business, I have nev- 



Aug. 7. 1910 bv Charles W Ross, Street Com- twenty miles an hour, it would be much easier er seen the time when so many people visited 



missioner Xewt< n. \ia-^ lor us to decide as to the kind of a surface our city, wrote so many letters-, asked so many 



t, , treatment to put on a road. When the speed questions and inquired over and ever again: 



fi " d limit is exceeded then the trouble commences, "What can our city or town do to improve the 



, 7* and by every mile by which the limit is ex- roads and keep up with the automobile traf- 



d of him at the ceede( the r y Qad is t * rn {o jeces In fic? , l ^ road buj , der 



.work is s w f]nd ouf best macadam d , b ent has been through the same trials an d t rib- 



always before you like a picture on the wall. 5 , inlpassable on account of the ulations. It is as hard a question to answer 



He cannot cover up his. """takes. - , " hi k h h and as it wou)d be (0 h " ask h 



A^re'enf fte re'i! no'thh % "h a t%S be'^rm" "*> ^v e to maintain. much it would cost to build a mile of road. 



ed perfect in the way of paving or construct I believe that the time is near at hand when I' would depend altogether on the kind of 



lre we shall be called upon to build two types road and the thousand other things that might 



' 



we may n . 



we still fi 1 be termed "state roads" should be built to take should be spent on a road depends entirely 

 e 'our fore- care of the automobile traffic; the city streets -"how much traffic passes over it, also the 



ha such is Tno, the case supe our ore- 



athers felt the same w'av fiftv vears ' ) but and those that are not used tor through traf- klnd of traffic, the grade and the sub-soil. 



ff'mUOT^e^.^trSpffikK^ "c could be surfaced with a differenf treat- Knowmg these you can readily tell what kind 



different from what it was, that the require- ment. There are many dust laying materials < f a surface to recommend and about how 



mcnts are entirely different. If we should '" the market at present that are perfectly much it would cost per square yard. 



undertake to build roads similar to their's, we satisfactory on a city street, but many of As I have already stated, the work of a 



can readily see that we would be criticized them are not fit to be used on the main high- road builder is on the surface. A man may 



severely by the public. way, because the automobile, traveling at a build a sewer or drain, or in fact almost any 



T , , whnU -la*,. what - h 'S n rate of speed, tears the surface off and other kind of construction; it is soon covered 



behi* donea nf z ? e the abTlitv c leaves the r ad in a very bad condition in a up an,l out of sight, but the surface of the 



short time. We are all looking forward to the street is visible at all times, especially in a 



facTs d oZVons that'c \ Wbtained I timi: when either the s '' ed Iimit wi " be rural dtv wherc P e P le take so ' ch P" de in 



twer nots'o thi con^resTwtld neve'r have <** ng ed or the traffic divided into classes their private drives, walks and lawns. They 



other similar meetinas that At P re sent, the question of proper treatment require so much of the Street Department 



ficial wo Id r t have been on diffe rent roads is very perplexing and is that it seems at times almost impossible to 



reauired I think the dav is fir distan" causin mGrc discussion than any other sub- keep up to their requirements. We appre- 



wTn we shaU have reached a point in road ^ ^ \ ^ * M f" y "P* 1 ^, *" ?"* l^f **? ^ ^ "f ^'^ 1 P ^ 

 building when it will be possible to answer at a lo t ss f tc f kn how to solve this problem, for all they have and that they are only anx- 

 all questions at a glance. If a person states J hls state of aff . alrs . cannot e f lst lon .S because ! ous . , 8 et the best they can, let it cost what 

 iint and kinr of traffic over a certain dls cerning people will soon learn the proper it will. It is, therefore, no easy task to say 

 roadHric sho^ treatment and correct advice wi,l be obtained what should be applied to the surface of a 



just what kind of treatment should be recom- from those who ar , e ca P able of giving it. street of from eight to ten per cent grade 



mended. We may go still farther and say that Because there are so many bituminous and cannot safely be covered with asphalt or a 

 our belief is that the horseless carriage is fast asphaltic materials on the market at the pres- bituminous paving, so that it will be perfectly 

 superseding the horsedrawn vehicle, and if it "it time and as each agent claims that his safe for horses to climb in all sorts of weath- 

 could be done at once, which we cannot yet product is the best, it is pretty hard for any er and we are obliged to look then, for a 

 hope for, the roads could be built to take care cue to select the materials to adopt. My opin- 



of the traffic much cheaper, and give better ' on I s . that they are all good under certain We have found by experience that a heavy 

 satisfaction to the public than by our com- . eon ^itions and applied to certain streets. A asphalt oil worked into the surface of the 

 bined system. They could he surfaced with treatment that will d. on one street may not road prolongs the life of the nad, makes it 

 a treatment either of tar, cement, heavy oil '" (: " ; i" t.'.er ; n account nf the heavy traffic ('ustless, free from mud and is not likely to 

 or any of the new preparations that have 'been : 1: <! "tlur various causes tl.at may arise. Tak- 1-e slippery. One of the best ways that we 

 tried that will withstand tin traffic of the an- *''& these ;eji:gs irto consideration, it is much l.ave t.-und to app'y this material is to take 

 tomr bile and keep the dust down so that the - eiter to < btam the services of a competent a crbic foot of sand t . a galle n of heavy as- 

 ; will be clean and in perfect condition rjad builder or secure the advice of some one phalt oil, heat the sand to a temperature of 

 every day of the vear for the automobile. But ' ' " has had practical experience in this line from 150 to 175 degrees F., mix the oil thor- 

 n-hen the roadway is expected to be used for 'han to rely on the statement of an agent (Uglily with the sand, spread it on the street 

 combination of automobiles and horse whose only desire is to sell his product. with shovels and rake it with a fourteen t.oth 



drawn vehicles, the problem becomes more 1 think at a congress of this kind a commit- wooden lawn rake. In this way, we have 



every n ad builder will agree that tee : r V. lie appointed tn study into the dif- ' )ccn . obliged to roll the surface of the street, 



the rpinion of the chauffeur and driver should ferent preparations, and have chemical analys- 'caving the sand and oil to he rolled down by 



I i : in deciding what kind cf a sur- es prepared of the different road surface pre- the teams. This has been tried more or less 



used in order to give perfect servative preparations, s that standard speci- ''''ring the past two years, and has proved to 



s;;ti-'facti n for Ir-th. The treatments to be ficati'cns could be drawn up for the different 1;e .absolutely clean and we have: not been 



for the road- have never been kinds of roads that are to be built, recnni- ! bli.yed to close the streets at any time dur- 



id until we can say that a certain ending the different materials on the various '"8 the process of thi- treatment. It has prov- 



i- to he used almost exclusively for according to their needs, in i rder that e( ' ver y satisfactory and one treatment a year 



automobiles, we cann t tell what kind of a when the question is asked: "What kind of seems to be sufficient. After the first year, 



rrrfao- to recommend; or if the road is to be material should 1 use? it can he answered in the expense is much less, as the material is 



osl entirely I"<T the horse drawn accordance with the ami tint and kind of traf- worked into the surface of the road making 



: is :,n r -y matter to determine what ;\- that pasees over the road. These are im- 't nearly waterproof, and this for combii 



hnll be n : ,,t considerations and can be easily ob- traffic has given very good satisfaction. 



Ti i^ year in i -etts, a iained by taking a "road census" covering a We have tried several of the different emul- 



tl;e amount f traffic day or week, as may be desired. As an ex- sions that are applied with water, such as tef 



lifferent igiirea sh \v ; mple, the following copy oi a blank report racolL, dustoline, calcium chloride and 



f our roads more than <'me- wa used by the .Massachusetts Highway Speares road binder. I do not intend to go 



<-v them C mmi-sion for this purpose- into the detail of how they should be mixed 



re machi Hue Kind of vehicle. and applied, as I believe the process is well 



le horse, light vehicle. known to everyone present. These have prov- 



horse, heavy vehicle. ed very satisfactory. We have also tried Tar- 



Two r more In rs( s, light vehicle. via A, B and X, the latter being a. heavy hind- 



Two or n: eg, heavy vehicle. er which has to be heated and mixed with the 



Au!i im bile, runabout. stone. All of these preparations have prov- 



Artomoljile, touring car. ed very satisfactory. 



renditions. There are streets in almost every commu- 



I 1 en i- m, reason at the present time why nity which might be termed "gravel roads," 



urely different treatment from that . \ ei v municipality shcujd not have the best that are used very frequently for pleasure 

 required for one -ubjeeted to horse drawn ; i it is possible for them to build, driving. They generally lead through a rural 



Utomo \Ve are eertainh at that stage where I have district and are enjoyed by people riding 

 'lust, free from loii'j expected we should be. We find our- horseback also by ladies and children who 



mud. in fact, a perfect BUrfa day in selvei away behind the times. The traffic has like to drive on the soft, smooth surface. 



the year, but the surface that is required for increased in volume, the high powered ma- These should be kept free from dust in or- 



In many 

 ;pri-e three-quarter- of 

 \Yh< re the e conditions exist the 

 ivided irto (lifferent classes. 



nple, ii' the census -hon'il -.how that 



nbc r of vehicles pa-.-in-j i ti er a 

 tin r ;H in t v. 

 propelled b^ c -'a- or steam the road would re- 



