The Old Pike: A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents, and Anecdotes ThereonSearight, Thomas B. (Thomas Brownfield)
History
The Old Pike: A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents, and Anecdotes Thereon
Searight, Thomas B. (Thomas Brownfield)
Cumberland Road; Pennsylvania -- Biography
Page 40.--"A part of the road in the Bath district is made of freestone,
which it would be unprofitable to lift. Other cases of several kinds
have occurred where a different method must be adopted, but which it is
impossible to specify, and must be met by the practical skill of the
officer, and who must constantly recur to general principles."
Page 42.--"The price of lifting a road, &c., leaving the road in a
finished state, has been found in practice to be from 1d. to 2d. per
superficial yard, lifted four inches deep."
Page 47.--"It is well known to every skillful and observant road-maker,
that if strata of stone of various sizes be placed on a road, the
largest stones will constantly work up." (This is in no manner
applicable to a pavement, and a road made even in the manner he alludes
to was lifted only four inches deep.--R. D.)
Page 105.--"How deep do you go in lifting the roads? That depends upon
circumstances, but I have generally gone four inches deep. I take up the
materials four inches, and, having broken the large pieces, I put them
back again."
"Does the plan which you have mentioned, of breaking up the roads, apply
to gravel roads, or only to those roads composed of hard stones? In
gravel roads, and in some other roads, it would be impossible to break
them up to advantage; and, in several places, I should think it
unprofitable to lift a road at all. I did not order the road near
Reading to be lifted, but I directed, whenever a large piece of flint
was seen, it should be taken up, broken, and put down again. I am
speaking of a gravel road now."
Page 107.--"There are other cases besides that of gravel, in which I
should think it unprofitable to lift a road. The road between ---- and
---- is made of very soft stone, and is of so brittle a nature, that if
it were lifted it would rise in sand, and there would be nothing to lay
down again that would be useful. I should not recommend lifting of
freestone roads, for the same reason, because it would go so much to
sand that there would be very little to lay down again. I will explain
what I have done to the road between Cirencester and Bath. I was obliged
to lift a little of the sides of the road, in order to give it shape,
but in the center of the road we 'shoved it.' It was before in the state
which the country people call gridirons: that is, it was in large
ridges, with long hollows between, and we cut down the high part to a
level with the bottom of the furrows, and took the materials and sifted
them at the side of the road, and returned what was useful to the
center."
(So far we have the views of Mr. Macadam. From the same work I continue
to quote.--R. D.)
Page 153.--"Considering the very great traffic upon Whitechapel road, is
it your opinion (addressed to Mr. Farey) that it would be advantageous
to pave any part of that road? I think it would be desirable to pave it
within some feet of the footpath," &c.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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