204 



The Philippine Journal of Science 



1916 



31, 1915) and the approximate cost per square meter are given 

 in Table I. 



Table I. — Varioiis paving materials in use on Manila streets. 



Kind of paving. 



Area. 



Original cost 

 per square me- 

 ter. 



Annual main- 

 tenance per 

 square meter. 



Wood block . . 



Sq. m. 

 13,270 

 35,370 

 71,436 



[ 1,560,117 



Pesos, b 



16.00 



not available. 



3.00 



1 2.40 

 1 2.00 

 I 1.20 



Pesos. 

 0.09 

 very little. 

 0.14 



0.13 



Stone block _ _ _ _ - 



Tar macadam - _ 



Macadam for — 



Heavy traffic - .- -. 



Medium traffic 



Light traffic 







• The information was obtained from the city engineer of Manila. 



^ One peso Philippine currency is equivalent to 50 cents United States currency. 



Total length of improved streets and alleys, 192,446 meters. 

 Total paved area, 1,680,192 square meters. 



The table shows that more than 92 per cent of all paving in 

 Manila is macadam, and the percentage is increasing. The 

 initial cost is low, but the high cost of maintenance prevents it 

 from being an economical material. 



ADVANTAGES OF PAVING BRICK 



It is generally conceded that a vitrified-brick pavement will 

 stand harder wear and give more satisfactory service for heavy 

 traffic than any other except one of stone block. The cost of 

 constructing a stone-block pavement is not excessive, and the 

 maintenance is practically negligible for many years. However, 

 such a pavement has a number of disadvantages. The edges of 

 the blocks usually wear round, and a very rough street results. 

 Such a pavement is hard on horses. Besides, it is noisy, and 

 dirt settles in the cracks and cannot be removed by sweepers. 

 The street is neither attractive nor sanitary when it is wet. 

 In most large cities of the United States the stone-block pavement 

 is confined to streets having only the heaviest traffic. 



A brick pavement when properly constructed is very satis- 

 factory. It wears smooth, offers little resistance to traction, 

 and requires little maintenance.^ Concerning the growth of the 



' Although a numbeT of unsatisfactory brick pavements may be found 

 in the United States, the difficulty with each is usually easy to find. As 

 a rule the fault lies in the bricks themselves, in the foundation, or in the 

 filler. In some cases the fault is with the traffic. This may have originally 

 been too heavy for a brick pavement or may have greatly increased after 

 the pavement was laid. 



