UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



1 BULLETIN No. 373 



Contribution from the Office of Public Roads and Rural 

 Engineering, LOGAN WALLER PAGE, Director. 





Washington, D. C. 



August 25, 1916 



BRICK ROADS.i 



By Vernon M. Peiece, Chief of Construction, and Charles H. Moorefield, 

 Senior Highway Engineer. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 



The raw materials 



The manufacture 



Physical characteristics 



Testing the brick 



Construction 



Page. 

 1 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 5 

 8 



" Monolithic " brick pavements 



Cost of brick pavements 



Maintenance for brick pavements — 



Conclusion 



Appendix A 



Appendix B 



Page. 

 21 

 22 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 34 



INTRODUCTION. 



A clay product closely resembling our present-day brick was among 

 the earliest materials used for paving streets and roads. Tke 

 first brick pavement constructed in this country, however, dates back 

 no further than 1872, and to Charleston, W. Va., belongs the dis- 

 tinction of having been the first American city to employ brick for 

 paving. 



For a number of years after being introduced into this country 

 the use of paving brick was principally confined to city streets, and, 

 owing to the frequent inferiority in the quality of the brick and lack 

 of care in construction, very few of the early pavements proved satis- 

 factory. Even now, after the experience of 40 years has demon- 

 strated that it is entirely practicable to construct satisfactory brick 

 pavements when proper care is exercised, and that much waste 

 results from the use of poor materials or faulty construction, in- 

 stances can frequently be found where comparatively new brick 

 pavements have wholly or partially failed from causes which might 

 easily have been prevented. (See PI. I and PI. 11.) 



Country roads paved with vitrified brick are becoming quite com- 

 mon in many of our States. The principal advantages which brick 



1 A revision of Department Bulletin 246, entitled 

 Roads." 



Vitrifled Brick Pavements for Country 



