Pavement

“ The jargon of the traffic on the rue de Rivoli, as it squabbles for every step between the deserted pavement beneath the railings of the Tuileries and the reeking pavement under the long archway lit by impudent shop-lights falling on imitation jewellery, is multiplied an hundred-fold by the shrewish air into a noise that hurts like warm water on a chill hand. ”

“ Our Granite Pavement has shared the fate of every thing in this World, where nothing remains long at rest: as soon as it had arrived at as high a degree of perfection as it appeared capable of, it was pulled up, and hammered into pieces:—so much for the Constancy and permanency of Human Ways! ”

“ The pavement itself is covered with a row of stone slabs, a foot and a half wide, on which one walks comfortably enough. But then every body contends for the possession of these, to avoid the uneven and pointed stones at the side. This, added to the dreadful crowding, renders the street one which would scarcely be chosen for a walk, the less so as the shops do not contain any thing handsome, the houses are neither palace-like nor even tastefully built, and the street itself is neither of the broadest nor of the cleanest. ”

“ Men and women walked the pavement, head downward, as a fly walks the ceiling. Automobiles rolled past in frantic procession, their tops toward me, their wheels miraculously clinging to the overhanging roadway. ”

“ Think of a huge church, the interior facing of which is composed of pieces of gilt stone, each no bigger than the point of your finger would cover! But this is not all. The wide-extending pavement is seen to be composed in like manner of small pieces of marble and precious stones, set so as to form regular figures, all most exact, and still wonderfully entire, though it has endured the feet of daily thousands for several centuries. ”

“ For more than six years I trod the pavement, never stepping once upon mother earth—for the parks are but pavement disguised with a growth of grass. ”

“ Wherever an old pavement or macadam road can be utilized it makes an excellent foundation for a pavement of this kind, provided it is not in too dilapidated a condition, extends from curb to curb, and its surface conforms near enough to the desired street surface so that the necessary changes and repairs will not be too expensive. Where the new pavement is expected to carry quite a heavy travel it is not advisable to use plain crushed stone for filling depressions and leveling up the surface. ”

“ By talking and writing on the subject I was at length instrumental in getting the street paved with stone between the market and the bricked foot pavement that was on each side next the houses. This for some time gave an easy access to the market, dry-shod; but, the rest of the street not being paved, whenever a carriage came out of the mud upon this pavement, it shook off and left its dirt upon it, and it was soon covered with mire, which was not removed, the city as yet having no scavengers. ”

“ Crumbling walls and shattered structures sprawled everywhere, and great saw-leaved, turquoise-blue plants half concealed long stretches of the cracked, disintegrating pavement. Scarcely a building stood staunch and whole. ”

“ North of these buildings is a room which seems to have been part of the refectory, remarkable for an exquisite pavement of small tiles—red, black, and white—arranged in an ingenious and intricate pattern, of which I made a careful drawing. My drawing shows the entire remaining portion of this pavement which, it will be seen, continued on beyond the present partition-wall. A central shaft is still left, with an old oak sideboard framed round its base in a most effective manner. ”

“ The street shall not be opened to travel until the pavement has become cold and hard.
58. Street Railroad Tracks.—Where railroad tracks exist on the streets, the sub-grade and the pavement foundation shall extend under the tracks, uninterrupted except by the ties and other structures connected with the track. Where concrete foundation is used, special care must be taken with the concrete directly under or around the rails, and concrete made of fine crushed stone and a higher ratio of cement and sand may be required in contact with the rail. ”

“ Was a wood pavement 'composed of blocks, each side having a single plain surface, and one or more of the sides being inclined, and the blocks being so laid on their larger ends as to form wedge-shaped grooves or spaces to receive concrete or other suitable filling,' patentable April 5, 1870, in view of the state of the art? ”

“ Wood blocks have come into favor in many cities 211during recent years because they are believed to make a pavement which is sufficiently strong to stand the burden now placed on the streets by truck traffic and yet afford a surface which is easy to drive over, not difficult to keep clean, and relatively noiseless. There is no one best form of pavement for all sections of the city. ”

“ The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet,
And passion rends my vitals as I pass,
A chafing savage down the decent street,
[Pg 137] Where boldly shines your shuttered door of glass. ”

“ In one form of his pavement he describes continuous grooves, the grooves being formed of blocks which are shorter than the others; and states that the groove is to be filled with concrete, coal-tar, &c., mixed with gravel or sand: but there is no foundation described for the pavement ”

“ This pavement consists of composite blocks 12 inches by 15 inches, cast in iron moulds with two rows of wood placed at an equal distance from either side and each other, the vacant spaces being filled with granite broken as for macadam; over all is poured a boiling composition of pitch, chalk, and sand. The blocks are thus treated at the works, and are, when cool, taken to the street, laid on a concrete foundation, and grouted with cement grouting. ”

“ Connection With Existing Pavements or Streets.—Wherever a new pavement joins or abuts against an existing pavement of a different kind, or an unpaved street, either at the end of the new pavement or at cross or intersecting streets, a line of stone headers shall be provided and set. The stone shall be of sound, hard limestone, sandstone, granite or bluestone, free from injurious imperfections. ”

“ Grading.—The whole area to be occupied by the pavement and its foundation shall be excavated or filled up to a sub-grade at such an elevation that after being compacted by the roller, the surface will be ... inches below the pavement datum, and truly parallel thereto. In excavating, the earth must not be disturbed below the sub-grade. Plowing will not be permitted where the depth of earth to be removed is less than five (5) inches, and in no case must the plow be allowed to penetrate to within less than one inch of the sub-grade. ”

“ Ordinarily no grade stakes are set for the surface of the pavement and templates are seldom used, the block setters using only their eyes to make the surface conform to the intended contour of the street. ”

“ I would build large—in fine embossed vaults and painted arches, as who should say, and yet never let it appear that the chequered pavement, the ground under the reader’s feet, fails to stretch at every point to the base of the walls. ”

“ The pavement is torn up: a hole is dug in the street; the tree is planted, pulled up to its elevation, firmly fixed in the ground—although, by the way, in many instances, the poor tree of liberty looks in a very tottering state—and the havock committed in the pavement more or less repaired. ”

“ Within certain workable limits there is no reason why the same principles of proportioning the strength of a pavement foundation to the work required of it should not be applied as are employed in designing other engineering structures. ”

“ Unless separately paid for under the contract, stone headers and crosswalks will be measured as a part of the pavement surface.
22. The price for the pavement per square yard shall, unless otherwise stated herein, include the preparation of the sub-foundation, the construction of the foundation, the cushion course, and the pavement complete, including all the materials and labor required therefor. ”

“ Granite block pavement is, as a rule, used upon, and appropriate for streets of the heaviest class of travel, and should, therefore, be provided with the best and strongest foundation. It is nearly always poor economy to lay granite blocks upon a broken stone, gravel, or sand foundation. ”

“ The pavement of the streets is much worn by carriage wheels, and holes are cut through the side stones, for the purpose of fastening animals in the market place; and in certain situations are placed stepping stones, which give us rather unfavourable ideas of the state of the streets. ”

“ But in all cities and towns there are many residence streets where the travel is very light, and yet where a permanent pavement is wanted and warranted. For these, it is believed that a properly constructed concrete pavement will prove very satisfactory and durable, and the low cost at which it can be constructed should make it very attractive to city officials and property owners. ”

“ All, therefore, that there is left for the invention described in the first and third claims to cover is the making of the lower ends of a portion of the blocks of which the pavement is composed in wedge shape, and the driving of these wedge-shaped blocks below the general under-surface of the pavement into the sand or earth-bed on which it rests, so as to pack it and render it solid and unyielding. ”

“ Upon careful inspection we then discovered immediately above the pavement, at a height of 21⁄2 feet, and rather less than a foot from the surface of the mound, another pavement similar to the former. These pavements rested on layers of clay which extended several feet beyond them, and gradually thinned out towards the edge. On a level with the lower pavement we found the remains of a series of massive stakes with square-cut ends, which appeared to surround it. ”

“ While our knowledge of the subject is not complete, experience seems to indicate pretty clearly that a sand of the quality and size-grading here specified as typical, may be depended upon to produce a good pavement. ”

“ The practice, usual in many cities, of adopting general specifications requiring a standard thickness of foundation and composition of concrete, and applying these to all streets, regardless of the quantity and character of travel which the pavement is expected to carry, is illogical and often very wasteful. ”

“ The manufacture of the mixture for sheet asphalt pavement, and the laying of it on the street, involve a number of separate elements or operations. The quality and durability of the pavement 102will depend largely upon the skill, intelligence and accuracy with which each and all parts of the work are carried out. The inspector, both at the mixing plant and on the street, must give constant and intelligent attention to the work. ”

“ But if for the pillar a triangular wall was substituted—a wall rising from the pavement at the south and sloping up towards the north at such an angle that it seemed to point to the invisible pivot of the heavens, round which all the stars appeared to revolve—then the shadow of the wall moved on the pavement in the same manner every day, and the pavement if marked to show the hours for one day would show them for any day. ”

“ The blocks have been kept together in various ways, some by mere position, others by wooden pegs, strong iron wire, &c. The great disadvantage of wooden pavement is that it becomes slippery in wet weather. ”

“ When the special pavement-bricks of good quality are used and put on a good concrete foundation, they make one of the most satisfactory pavements for ordinary traffic, being both fairly durable and easy to travel on. ”

“ The lots are all improved and used for residence purposes, and all of the lots are substantially on the grade of the street as improved, and are similarly situated with respect to the asphalt pavement. ”

“ Here a pavement built of stone is walled in with an opening on two sides, so that when it rains the water may pass through, and wash off the pavements placed below the surface of the ground for the purpose of protecting them from sudden gusts of wind that come down and sweep away the whole crop, the more easily after the leaves are dried. ”

“ The sidewalks of the Boulevards, and all the public squares, wherever carriages do not pass, have been covered with this smooth asphaltic pavement, and in the Boulevards have been erected some magnificent buildings, with richly carved pilasters and other ornaments in relief, and statues in niches, and balconies supported by stone brackets wrought into bunches of foliage. ”

“ The surface of the road is excavated to a suitable depth—say, 18 inches; preparing the form for the pavement with the precautions as for a common pavement; 4 inches of gravel and proper drainage where required, provided blocks of stone of any irregular shape are selected for the pavement, of about 7 inches in thickness. The blocks are set by hand with great care, as closely in contact at their base as practicable. The surface between the blocks is filled with chippings of stone carefully laid in. ”

“ Lilac and laburnum bushes peeped over the garden walls. The throng of traffic grew thinner, the pavement less crowded. It was past five when we drew up at a little public-house standing back from the road. ”

“ Streets and carry the pavement up along the north side of Bridge Street to the intersection of High and Water Streets and thence, after paving with round stone the Center Square to continue it afterwards along the south of Fall Street ... to remove the earth and pave 5 ft. wide against the curb stone, where individuals would not pave, from Washington to High Street and to graduate and pave the Center Square. ”

“ Except on streets of excessively heavy travel there seems to be no good reason for making the blocks more than five inches deep. Blocks of this depth are quite sure to become deformed by irregular wear before the pavement will need to be renewed. ”