BEICK EOADS. 25 



of the amounts of wear sustained by given pavements during com- 

 paratively long periods of years have not been sufficient to warrant 

 any very definite conclusions as to the probable terms of service, 

 though they indicate that good paving brick wear very slowly under 

 ordinary traffic. It is evident that in order to secure the full benefit 

 of this excellent resistance to wear the surface of the pavement must 

 not be permitted to become uneven because of the failure of a brick 

 here and there. 



CONCLUSION. 



Before concluding this discussion of brick pavements, it would 

 seem desirable to emphasize the importance of proper engineering 

 supervision. In the past many communities have expended large 

 sums in efforts to improve their public highways without first having 

 secured the services of some one competent to plan and direct the 

 work. The results have usually been very unsatisfactory under such 

 circumstances and have frequently served to discourage further 

 effort. One of the mistakes most commonly observed consists in 

 constructing some expensive type of pavement on a road where the 

 location is faulty or the grades are impracticable. Not infrequently 

 sharp angles in the alignment or abrupt changes in the grade, 

 which might be easily and inexpensively remedied by an experienced 

 engineer, are left to impede traffic throughout the life of a costly 

 and perhaps durable pavement. 



Even in constructing common earth roads it is doubtful economy 

 to dispense with the services of a competent engineer, and if any 

 considerable quantity of work is to be done, such services should 

 certainly be secured. Since brick pavements are probably more ex- 

 pensive to construct than any other type of pavement at present 

 used for country roads, it is all the more important that their con- 

 struction should be carefully planned and well executed. 



