Concrete Roads
and Their Construction

IN THE UNITED KINGDOM—PROVINCIAL 35 Ordnance datum. The soil being alluvium for a depth of 40 ft. before the ballast is reached, considerable trouble was formerly encountered when, erecting buildings or constructing roadways, because of the unequal settlement of foundations. The success which attended the erection of some cottages by the use of reinforced concrete foundation rafts caused the Council to look to a somewhat similar form of foundation for remedying the difficulties met with in the heavily trafficked portions of their road system ; instructions were therefore given their engineer to prepare specifications for a trial length of concrete roadway with suitable reinforcement. The experimental section was laid down on the main Dock Road during the months of September, October and November, and opened to traffic at Christmas, 1917. It is 130 ft. long, 27 ft. wide, and 7 in. thick. ---SECTION-=>------ Fig. 24.—Reinforced concrete roadway, Tilbury. 'The section is level longitudinally, with a cross-fall of 1 in 50. It is on the main road leading from London to Tilbury Main Dock, where the Cunard, Atlantic Transport, Orient, Peninsular and other companies' large liners are berthed, and a summary of traffic statistics shows “ heavy traffic,” there being more than 250 vehicles daily in addition to tractors. Before the new roadway was laid down, the road paving had consisted of water-bound macadam resting on about 1 ft. of hard core. The eastern end of the roadway being the turning corner of Arroll’s Biidge leading to the Port Authority’s property, the heavy lorries in turning caused deep ridges to keep appearing, and much nuisance from dust in dry weather ensued, to the annoy- ance of inhabitants of adjoining property, with a large accumula- tion of mud whenever the weather was wet. The existing surface of the new carriage-way was excavated