Grantville Gazette, Volume X Read online

  Poland, Russia and Scandinavia also export wood (although there has been some question raised as to how heavily forested Sweden itself was in the 1630s). While it probably is not economical to import Baltic wood into Germany merely to construct plank roads, the Baltic countries may themselves find such roads to be advantageous, especially to connect one river to another.

  Road Design: City Pavements

  City pavements have to bear the heaviest traffic. In medieval times, the usual expedient was the familiar cobblestone street, with large stones embedded in soil, sand or gravel. Gregory (140) comments that cobbled roads were "largely used on the North German Plain, where there is no local supply of squared stone, but cobbles are plentiful in the glacial drifts."

  In nineteenth-century England, the noisy cobbled roads were gradually replaced by set stone pavements, which are described in the 1911 EB. The paving stones should be flat, square, and about three inches wide and nine inches deep.

  The stones are fitted closely together, and the joints sealed with a grout of lime or cement. This is adequate, says the 1911 EB, if the foundation is concrete or broken stone or hard core.

  It was not always possible to lay a proper foundation, as this required tearing up the original street. If so, then one could use a "bituminous grout," which was the result of adding a composition of "coal tar, pitch and creosote oil" to packed down gravel.

  The 1911 EB notes that brick, wood and asphalt can also be used in paving. (We will take up the issue of asphalt in the next section.)

  The use of brick dated back to about 1885, and brick roadways are said to have "stood well under hard wear for fourteen years." The 1911 EB provides particulars concerning the composition of the clay, the manufacturing method used to minimize chipping, and tests for moisture and abrasion resistance.

  1911 EB adds that wood pavements were introduced in England in 1839, and improved in 1871. In essence, these streets feature wood blocks, fitted together. There is much debate in 1911 EB as to which is the best wood to use. The improved pavement was laid over an elastic foundation of tarred wood boards, which in turn rested on sand. The pavement joints were filled with tarred gravel.

  Gregory (140) is actually quite complimentary about wood block pavements, provided the wood is hard and heavy: "they form a smooth surface, which makes one of the quietest of road; the surface is easily cleaned and is durable. Wood pavement is well adapted for horse traffic and motors: it has the advantage over asphalt or macadam that it is not thrown into waves."

  Road Design: Modern Asphalt Roads

  Within the Ring of Fire, there are several modern asphalt roads. Such roads were completely unfamiliar to seventeenth-century Europeans. In K.D. Wentworth's "Here Comes Santa Claus" (Ring of Fire), General Pappenheim mused, "The unfamiliar substance was hard as rock, yet seemed to have been laid down in malleable form somehow, then smoothed like butter before it solidified."

  The nineteenth-century author-to-be Laura Ingalls Wilder was equally surprised by her first encounter with asphalt: "In the very midst of the city, the ground was covered by some dark stuff that silenced all the wheels and muffled the sound of hoofs. It was like tar, but Papa was sure it was not tar, and it was something like rubber, but it could not be rubber because rubber cost too much. We saw ladies all in silks and carrying ruffled parasols, walking with their escorts across the street. Their heels dented the street, and while we watched, these dents slowly filled up and smoothed themselves out. It was as if that stuff were alive. It was like magic." (NAPA)

  The usage of the terms "tar," "bitumen" and "asphalt" is somewhat quixotic. I will use "tar" to refer to coal tar, and "bitumen" to refer to solid or semisolid petroleum per se. "Asphalt" may mean the crude source (rock or lake asphalt), or the derivative road material.

  While Paris had its first asphalt footpath in 1810, it took time to develop the proper techniques for asphalt paving, and the modern EB says that the "first successful major application" was on the rue Saint-Honore in 1858.

  We have the expertise to lay it, we have the necessary equipment in the WVDOT garage . . . but where do we get the asphalt?

  There is, of course, asphalt in the Middle East. In fact, the first use of asphalt as a road surface was by the Babylonians. (NAPA) The asphalt came from Hit, in Turkey. (1911 EB, "Hit"). But the Ottoman Empire is hostile to the USE, and the trade route is in any event a long one.

  Fortunately, there are European sources (Earle, 28–33; 1911 EB). According to the 1911 EB "Asphalt" article, "the material chiefly used in the construction of asphalt roadways is an asphaltic or bituminous limestone found in the Val de Travers, Canton of Neuchattel; in the neighborhood of Seyssel, department of Am; at Limmer, near the city of Hanover; and elsewhere." Forbes (539) mentions Wietze, too, which would be a logical place to look since we are already drilling for oil there.

  The Val de Travers (Swiss) rock asphalt, a bituminous limestone with an oil content of about 10–12%, has been known since pre-Roman times, but in OTL, it was first described scientifically by Dr. d'Eyrinis (1712). The Limmer deposit was discovered around 1730 but not worked until 1840. The 1911 EB article fails to mention that there are also deposits at Vorwohle.

  Our access to French sources is uncertain, thanks to the war. However, their premiere asphalt mine can be found at Seyssel, near Annecy, in Haute-Savoire. In OTL, it was discovered in 1797. There is also asphalt at St. Jean de Maurejols and Arejans, both in the Department of Gard.

  Another European source I am aware of is in Sicily, near Ragusa. It is mentioned in 1911 EB, but only in the article on Ragusa (the town "is commercially of some importance, a stone impregnated with bitumen being quarried and prepared for use for paving slabs by being exposed to the action of fire"). If the up-timers have the 1911 EB on a searchable CD, they might well find it. Otherwise, its discovery will be fortuitous.

  Asphalt can also be found in Hungary, Romania, and, of special note, Osmundsberg in Sweden. (Forbes, 539) Unfortunately, the Swedish source is obscure even today.

  The modern encyclopedias do not mention any of the European sources. Rather, they tout the benefits of the lake asphalt of Trinidad. Trinidad is nominally under Spanish control, but Sir Walter Raleigh trounced the Spanish garrison in 1595, then used the asphalt to caulk his ships. Trinidad is indeed an incredibly rich source; it exported 23,000 tons in 1880; 86,000 in 1895; and almost twice that a few years later. (Borth 169). The 1911 EB also notes that asphalt can be mined in Cuba and Venezuela.

  A third source came into prominence once oil drilling became a big business. The crude oil was subjected to fractional distillation, and the heaviest fraction was suitable for use as a road asphalt.

  The sources on roadbuilding history are not always precise, or in agreement, as to whether the "asphalt" used was rock asphalt, lake asphalt, oil well asphalt, or even coal tar.

  * * *

  The modern asphalt road evolved in three stages. First, a thin coating of coal tar or asphalt was sprayed onto macadam roads. The tar acts as a binder, so that vehicular traffic does not raise clouds of dust. It also acted to waterproof the road. This early form can be termed a "seal coat tar macadam."

  According to Collier's Encyclopedia, the stones are best laid in several layers, each only slightly thicker than the largest stones used, so they can lock together. A typical thickness is 1.5–4 inches. The stones are spread and rolled. Then hot asphalt is sprayed onto them (one to three gallons per square yard). Stone chips can be spread and rolled in, to protect the asphalt.

  It later became possible to achieve a course in which broken stone and asphalt were mixed together throughout the entire thickness, resulting in a "penetration tar macadam," or "penny mac." This was not a trivial procedure; R.G. Taylor, in 1919, referred to the "many errors" made in the attempt to construct such surfaces. (R&P, I:53).

  The third stage was the "hot mix" or "hot rolled" sheet asphalt, also known as "black top."

  The 1911 EB describes two methods of preparing the asphalt f
or street use. The "European" method was to pulverize the European rock asphalt, heat it in revolving ovens to 220–250 deg. F., and then compress and smooth it. The heating reduces the moisture content without, hopefully, much loss of petroleum. The compression "reconstructs" the original rock, although with a more desirable composition.

  In contrast, the "American" method used the purer asphalt of Trinidad. It is similar to the methods described in the modern encyclopedias, and so I will turn to the latter for particulars.

  Rock "aggregate" and asphalt are mixed together at a high temperature (Collier's says about 350 deg. F., and EB, 300–400 deg. F.), and the mix is rolled while hot and therefore fluid. The aggregate may be graded sand and fine rock dust (Collier's), or broken stone less than 1.5 or even less than one inch in size (EB). It is perhaps worth mentioning that since it was already 88–94% limestone, there was no need to add rock aggregate to the European rock asphalt.

  In 1911, the asphalt was laid at a temperature of 150–200 deg. F., spread with rakes, compressed with light blows, and finally smoothed with a steam roller. Modern methods are similar. The asphalt is spread and compacted by specialized tamping or vibrating machines. Usually two to six inches will be laid at one time, and the total thickness ranges from two inches to a foot or more. (Encyclopedia Americana).

  Road Design: Modern Concrete Roads

  Instead of a flexible pavement made of asphalt, the road builder may lay a rigid pavement formed from concrete. The first successful post-classical use of concrete in road-building was, depending on who you ask, in Grenoble, France in 1876 (Collier's) or in Inverness, Scotland in 1865 (modern EB).

  Concrete can be thought of as a mixture of cement, sand and stone. The 1911 EB comments, "Rocks like granite and syenite may be used in combination with Portland cement. The ingredients are mixed in about the proportion of four parts of broken stone that has first been well wetted, one and a quarter or two parts of clean sharp sand, and one of cement put on in two layers, the second being rolled by hand to the required shape and to a good surface. It should remain for two or three weeks to dry and set. Want of elasticity may be urged against concrete macadam, and it is productive of dust, but in some cases it has proved satisfactory."

  The modern formula provided in Collier's Encyclopedia (which is the source of the remainder of the information in this section) is similar: one part cement; two parts sand; and three to four parts gravel or stone. The concrete may be mixed at a central facility, en route (this requires a specialized vehicle), or at the construction site.

  The concrete may be of a uniform thickness (typically eight to ten inches), or it may be several inches thicker at the edges, relative to the center, to increase edge strength. Wire mesh reinforcement may be used, and, if so, is typically laid above the bottom two inches of the concrete.

  The concrete is usually laid in widths of 20–30 feet (equivalent to two lanes of traffic), with a "contraction joint" running down the center. Laying involves depositing the wet mix, spreading it out, compacting it, leveling it, and finally imparting a rough texture to it by dragging wet burlap over it. The concrete is kept moist for at least a week by spraying it with a protective compound or (a more likely expedient in the 1632 universe) covering it at all times with wet burlap.

  * * *

  Asphaltic concrete is a combination of the two roadbuilding materials, and is made by mixing crushed stone, sand, rock dust and asphalt at a temperature of 350 deg. F. The asphalt serves as a cementing agent.

  * * *

  Concrete may also be used as a base for asphalt or asphaltic concrete (resulting in a so-called "flexible over rigid" pavement). Base course concrete contains less cement than pavement concrete.

  Road Design: Roadside Trees

  John Evelyn, in Sylva (1667), was the first writer to use the word "avenue" to refer to "the chief approach to a country-house, usually bordered by trees." (OED) It came to refer to any broad, tree-lined thoroughfare.

  Besides beautifying the landscape, "trees furnish shade, temper the atmosphere, absorb water from the roadbed, and act as a shield against snow and wind." (Morrison, 174) Morrison qualifies this praise by pointing out that by blocking out the wind and sun, it reduces their ability to contribute to the drying out of the road after a rain.

  Cost of Construction and Maintenance

  Some cost data is presently available in the Transportation Cost FAQ posted to www.1632.org.

  Financing

  While usually less expensive than railroads and canals, good roads aren't cheap to build or maintain. Insofar as construction is concerned, the basic choice is between private and public financing. The English turnpikes of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were built by revenues raised by private subscription, that is, stock purchases in a "turnpike trust." Most major highways nowadays are built with public funds, either out of tax dollars, or, more often, with the proceeds from selling highway bonds.

  Building the road is only the first battle; it still needs to be kept in good condition. Several systems have evolved over the centuries to pay for road care.

  One is to have each local community maintain the section of road which passes through its area. This could be by direct taxation, or through their own (unpaid) labor (the "statute labor" or "corvee" system).

  This involuntary labor was usually not very effectual. In 1844, Samuel Cassidy wrote that the only reason the laborers brought shovels with them was to "support them when they got too lazy to stand alone." (Majewski 6) If the government cracked down, it led to unrest.

  The larger problem with local support of regional and national roads was pointed out by Macaulay: "that a road connecting two great towns which have a large and thriving trade with each other should be maintained at the cost of the rural population scattered between them is obviously unjust. . . ." (Gregory 172)

  The second strategy was to charge user fees. Numerous turnpike (toll) roads were built in England and, later, in America. In theory, it sounded like a good idea for those who used the road to pay for its upkeep. In practice, there were two problems. First, travelers would evade the tollbooths, especially those at fixed locations, taking byways which came to be nicknamed, "shunpikes." (Luedtke; Majewski 5) Secondly, the turnpike trusts do their job. If the revenue from the road was lighter than expected, it was tempting to skimp on repairs. Which, in turn, led to further reduction in traffic and more evasion.

  Finally, roads can be financed regionally, or even nationally, not just by the local communities or road users.

  Road Construction: Acquiring the Right of Way

  Ideally, the right of way is donated by local landowners who perceive the economic benefit of the new road. If they are not so farsighted, then either they must be persuaded to sell an easement, or the government must have the will and the right to condemn the property under the principal of eminent domain. In the United States, the landowner is still entitled to compensation for the lost property.

  Roadbuilding Materials

  As a starting point, we can gravel roads using waste from certain industrial processes; for example, mining tailings and blast furnace slag. And Germany itself has plenty of gravel of Ice Age origin.

  We can lay asphalt roads using waste material (thick tar) from oil refining. We can also use liquid grades of oil to bind dirt roads, reducing dust clouds.

  To make concrete roads, we need construction aggregate (e.g., crushed stone, gravel, slag, ash or sand), cement (to hold the aggregate together), and water. Portland cement can be made from limestone, clay and gypsum.

  Road Construction Equipment

  Pretty much all aspects of road construction can be done manually, with pickaxe and shovel, given enough laborers and time. However, mechanization became significant by the nineteenth century.

  Manual clearing of a roadway involved use of saws to cut trees, chains and draft animals to pull out stumps, and picks and shovels to break and remove boulders. Nowadays, these tasks are performed mostly by bulldozer
s. If a road must be cut through hard rock, this can be done with explosives, or with massive mobile drills and shovels. (The special needs of tunneling and bridging operations are best left to another essay.)

  Grading the roadbed can be done with bulldozers, scrapers, graders, and dump trucks. Drainage ditches are dug by backhoes and trenchers. Stone may be broken on site by rock crushers, or rock fragments may be hauled from a quarry by dump trucks. The road base may be compacted by various kinds of rollers. Specialized pavers lay asphalt or concrete pavements over the base.

  Thanks to that WVDOT garage, Grantville has an assortment of modern heavy equipment. In the post-RoF world, this equipment has two functions. First, it can be studied by up-timer and down-timer machinists with a view toward either duplicating it outright or, if need be, constructing a "geared-down" version. Secondly, it can be used for actual road maintenance and construction. My guess is that the latter use will be restricted to roads close to Grantville.