Concrete Roads
and Their Construction

82 CONCRETE ROADS The road was opened for traffic six weeks after laying the last batch of concrete, or twelve weeks after commencing the work. The result has been considered very satisfactory, and up to the present has been an entire success. A photograph of the completed road is shown in Fig. 55. In cost the concrete compares very favourably with the macadam road, and a very large saving in maintenance charges is anticipated. Benefiting by their experience with this trial length of road, the company has since put down other concrete roads of greater length inside the Works. The method of laying these roads and their general construction are very similar to those of the trial length, but one or two modifications have been introduced. In the first place the new roads are formed with concrete kerbs instead of stone, which forms the kerbing in the trial length. Reinforcing Fabric Tgrrnite Sett Border Reinforcing Fahric' SECTION OF RofORß&C. Fig. 52.—Section through roads and border, Portsea Island Gas Works. The layer of reinforcing fabric will project under the kerb and for a distance of 6 in. beyond its outer edge, where the concrete is formed into a step. This, it is thought, will reduce the stress on the kerb, and, as an. additional safeguard, a further strip of reinforcing fabric 1 ft. 6 in. long has been laid through the body of the kerb, as shown in Fig. 52. The question of camber has required some attention. Many concrete roads are laid with very little camber, 1 in 50 being often specified for this purpose. Doubtless this will allow water to run off provided the road can be kept reasonably clean, but a gas- works yard is usually so muddy as to render the road leading therefrom very needful of attention in this respect. A greater camber was, therefore, given to the trial road—some 4 in. on the total width of 22 ft., or 1 in 33, and this camber has been adhered to in the new roads. The work was carried out to the specification and drawings of