ROADS AND ROAD BUILDING 



271 



Plank Roads. Some years ago a number of plank roads were 

 ouilt in Missouri and other States, but they were found objection- 

 able, and their construction has been discontinued. It was 

 found that the planks were slippery and dangerous during 

 wet weather and in the winter time when there was snow or 

 ice on the surface of the road. The cost of constructing such 

 roads was so great that but few communities undertook the 

 experiment. 



Macadam Roads. These roads are the outgrowth of the ideas 

 of John L. Macadam, a Scotchman, who lived from 1756 to 1836 

 and gave considerable attention to the matter of road building. 

 After the ground has been properly graded and prepared, there is 

 placed, first a layer of small stone, two or three inches in diameter, 



EDIUM R.OCK 







Section of a macadam road. 



which is firmly packed or rolled; then another layer of stone, 

 about half the size of the stones of the first layer, is added, rolled, 

 and packed. This layer is then crowned with a layer of finely 

 crushed rock and sand, and is likewise rolled and packed. A 

 great many of these roads are found in Missouri, Tennessee, and 

 Kentucky, and in some of the Eastern States. In Missouri they 

 are frequently called gravel roads, while in Tennessee and Kentucky 

 they are designated as pikes or turnpikes. Generally the county 

 furnishes half of the funds needed to build the road, and the prop- 

 erty owners along its route subscribe the remainder. In order 

 to keep up the road, a toll of two or three cents a mile is generally 

 charged, which is collected by the tollgate keeper at either end of 

 the road. 



