En Samling Afhandlinger Om Veje 1876-1881

OUR ROADWAYS. 21 “ perfectly solid foundation, will necessarily offer “ greater resistance to the traffic, and so be more “ liable to wear. How far my opinion, may be cor- “ rect, experience can alone determine.” It needs no deep study of mechanics to know that the harder and more inelastic a roadway the less resistance will it offer to the traffic rolling over it. As in all constructions everything depends upon the foundation, the more rigid it is the better. There is no need of underplanking, and to lay the planks to the curve of the road it is often necessary to re- move the good hard material which has for years formed its bottom, and substitute a layer of sand or, as is often the case, “dry earth.” The result is that, after the pavement has been subjected to a moderate amount of traffic, and after the surface water has percolated through the joints, as it invari- ably does, forming a bed of tar, slime, and mud, the whole paving becomes wavy and sinks, leaving the kerbs unsupported, and permitting water to find its way through crevices into the adjacent houses. On this point Mr. Lemon, C.E., may again be quoted. He says:— “ After all, the foundation is the most important “ part of any paving, and, put what you will on the “ top, if the foundation fails the whole thing fails.” Also—“ One of the great advantages of Asphalte “ is its non-absorbency, the absence of all joints, and “ consequent dry subsoil where it is used. Then, if