317 
PARK AND CEMETERY . 
THREE YEARS’ EXPERIENCE WITH OILED ROADS 
Paper read before American Society of Municipal Improvements 
by F. A. Reimer, City Eng., East Orange, A'. J., zv-ith Discussion 
The serious problem of the mainte- 
nance of telford and macadam roads, 
forced upon us by the development of 
auto traffic, is one of the vexed ques- 
tions of the day wdiich demands a solu- 
tion from us or further construction of 
this type of road must cease. A resi- 
dential city, which till recent date could 
boast of its beautifully maintained roads, 
faces toda\' an entirely different situa- 
tion that calls for close study and 
thought if these roads are still to be 
considered as one of its principal assets. 
The statement that these roads are 
being seriously damaged almost to the 
point of destruction by automobiles can- 
not be successfully challenged. The 
annual cost of maintenance has ad- 
vanced far beyond what should be the 
yearly increase due to the normal in- 
crease of traffic, proving that the evolu- 
tion of the motor-driven vehicle is the 
cause of this excessive cost. 
While the commercial side ,of the 
question interests us principally, quite 
as imperative is the abatement of the 
dust nuisance when considered from the 
viewpoint of public health. I consider 
it incumbent on all street departments 
to co-operate in every possible way with 
the health authorities to effect an im- 
proved condition of our highways. Pure 
air, the chief agent of life and health, 
when impregnated with the dangerous 
ingredients that are scattered broadcast 
through our streets, into our places of 
business and homes, becomes one of the 
most active agents for the breeding of 
diseases that each year swell the mor- 
tality reports of our health boards. 
We have in East Orange 57 miles of 
improved roads, all telford pavement. 
The questions that are constantly being 
asked are : What can be done to over- 
come the destructive effect of automo- 
biles on our roads? Can our roads be 
preserved without prohibitive cost? Can 
they be made dustless? After careful 
study and investigation we determined 
to experim’ent with an asphaltum oil, be- 
lieving it to be the most adaptable for 
the solution of these questions. 
Late in 1906 we carefully resurfaced 
one of our principal residential streets. 
In June, 1907, the road was thoroughly 
hand-swept of all dirt and dust, leav- 
ing the road metal exposed. We then 
applied an oil containing about 60 per 
cent of asphaltum, a gallon covering 2^4 
square yards. The oil was well swept 
in and allowed to penetrate, harden and 
dry, and the road was then opened to 
traffic. It had the appearance of a newly 
constructed asphalt road, perfectly 
smooth, but plastic enough to show 
slight tracks of vehicles. Every stone 
was firmly cemented together, to a depth 
of from three-quarters of an inch to 
1J4 inches. As the season advanced, the 
PREPARING ROAD TO RECEIVE OIL. 
