E 5 
BULLETIN OF THE 
USIPMI0FA«1! 
No. 246 
Contribution from the Office of Public Roads, Logan Waller Page, Director. J 
July 24, 1915. 
VITRIFIED BRICK PAVEMENTS FOR COUNTRY 
ROADS. 
By Vernon M. Peirce, Chief of Construction, and Charles H. Moorefield, 
Senior Highway Engineer. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Introduction 1 
The raw materials 2 
The manufacture 3 
Physical characteristics 5 
Construction 8 
Page. 
Cost of brick pavements 19 
Maintenance for brick pavements 20 
Conclusion 21 
Appendix A 22 
Appendix B 31 
INTRODUCTION. 
A clay product closely resembling our present-day brick was 
among the earliest materials used for paving streets and roads. The 
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 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. 
Country roads paved with vitrified brick are becoming quite com- 
mon in many of our States, and, owing to the general satisfaction 
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