8 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
CONSTRUCTION and MAINTENANCE of BOULEVARDS 
In tlie first 3 ears of the histor\- of the 
Park and Boulevard System of this city, 
road surfaces for boulevards received 
careful consideration, for people were not 
from Re fort to Kansas City Park Board by 
Ralph R. Benedict, Assistant Executive Officer 
This was thoroughly rolled with a road 
roller weighing not less than 10 tons and 
such depressions as appeared were patched 
and re-rolled until the cross-section was to 
ment, giving a 40-foot roadway from curb 
to curb. The height of the curb was 8 
inches. 
Owing to the inability to obtain the trap 
GILLHAM ROAD ALONG McGEE ST., KANSAS CITY, MO. 
satisfied with a good earth road well main- 
tained. As the years have passed and the 
great changes have come in the methods 
of transportation, the evolution of pave- 
ments has had to keep pace with these 
changes. 
The water-bound macadam surface was 
the first adopted and for the pleasure 
vehicle traffic of that time gave the high- 
est satisfaction. The water-bound macad- 
am surface was constructed with materials 
obtainable in this vicinity along the best 
lines then in practice. That some of these 
macadam surfaces are still in use after 
fifteen years of service speaks well of their 
construction. A number of different classes 
of materials were used, but the specifica- 
tions for the building of the road were 
substantially the same. The first macadam 
roads were built 13 inches thick on a sub- 
grade that had been thoroughly rolled and 
compacted. All soft places were cleaned 
out and new material added. Such wet 
places as developed were drained with 
broken rock drains into the nearest catch- 
basin or manhole. On this prepared sub- 
grade was placed six inches of stone, either 
hand-broken in six-inch cubes or crushed 
stone running 2>4 to 3^4 inches in size. 
an even gradient 7 inches lielow' and paral- 
lel with the finished surface. On this base 
was placed a second course 4 inches thick 
constructed of crushed limestone lj4to2’4 
inches in size. This w'as thoroughly rolled 
and water finished with limestone screen- 
ings to 3 inches below and parallel with the 
finished pavement. On this course was 
placed 3 inches of Arkansas trap rock of 
1^2 to 2j4 inches in size. Before rolling, 
sufficient bank gravel was cast over the 
trap rock to partially fill the voids and 
provide a softer material to bond and ob- 
tain the water finish. This Arkansas trap 
was a very hard Diabase, dark gray in 
color and very difficult to bond with a 
roller without the addition of the bank- 
gravel, which contained a small amount of 
other fine material. After the top course 
had been flooded and rolled until there 
was no creeping of the surface under the 
action of the roller, a top dressing of trap 
rock screenings J/ inch in thickness was 
added. 
This macadam surface was built 36 feet 
wide, which was the standard width of 
pavements of all boulevards, and had a 
crown of 12 inches. A combined curb and 
gutter was placed just outside of the pave- 
rock in sufficient quantities to keep pace 
with the rapid growth of the boulevard 
system, a substitute was chosen, using na- 
tive limestone throughout. In this con- 
struction only two courses were used, the 
first being 8 inches thick, of hand-broken 
stone, and the second 4 inches thick, of 
crushed stone VA to 2^4 inches in size. 
The top course was finished with native 
limestone screenings and water, thoroughly 
rolled and compacted. Cross-walks of red 
granite were constructed at each street in- 
tersection, both across the boulevards and 
side streets. These were necessary at that 
time to give the people a dry crossing on 
account of excessive sprinkling needed to 
lay the dust arising from the macadam 
pavement. The range of prices for the 
water-bound macadam were from 80 cents 
to $1.75 a square yard, depending on the 
material used. Native limestone was worth 
at the work at an average of $1.25 per 
cubic yard, while the Arkansas trap rock 
cost about $2.80 f. o. b. the work. 
Owing to the increased automobile traf- 
fic and the attending high maintenance due 
to water sprinkling, which softened the 
road and allowed a fast disintegration of 
the surface, the laying of dust with oil fast 
