En Samling Afhandlinger Om Veje 1876-1881

OUR ROADWAYS. 19 the report made in 1874 to the special Works Com- mittee of Southampton, by Mr. James Lemon, C.E., Borough Surveyor. He says:— “ The principle adopted by the Improved Wood “ Pavement Company, namely, two thicknesses of “ boarding bedded on sand, at first sight has very “ much to recommend it. It enables the engineer to “ obtain ready access to gas and water pipes. It “ distributes the weight of heavy loads over a large “ surface, and what is perhaps more important in “ London, the pavement can be laid and. repaired u with great rapidity without much hindrance to “ traffic. But it has in my mind many glaring de- u fects; viz. its liability to rapid decay; its want of “ solidity, and the encouragement it gives to a damp “ subsoil. It must be evident that a wood pavement “ which is not water-tight or kept dry underneath, “ must contain all the elements of decay, more espe- “ cially when the substratum is sand, and the water “ and urine which finds its way through the joints “ can pass freely under the boarding, rendering it “ wet and damp. It is true the Company caulk the “ joints with pitch and tar, but the end joints are “ open and the water can pass freely through them.” “ The want of solidity in the pavement is apparent “ if it is continually watched under heavy loads, the “ two thin boards on a soft bed must necessarily “ yield under great pressure, and in places a per- “ manent set or depression must be the result.”