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SPECIFICATIONS FOR

STREET ROADWAY PAVEMENTS

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SPECIFICATIONS FOR STREET ROADWAY PAVEMENTS
WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO
INSPECTORS ON STREET PAVING WORK

BY

S. WHINERY

MEMBER AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

Second Edition

Revised, Enlarged and Entirely Reset

McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY

239 WEST 39TH STREET, NEW YORK

6 BOUVERIE STREET, LONDON, E. C.

1913

Copyright, 1913, by the

McGraw-Hill Book Company

THE·MAPLE·PRESS·YORK·PA

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

In offering to the public a new edition of “Specifications for Street Roadway Pavements” the author has taken advantage of the opportunity to revise and expand somewhat the matter in the original edition and to add thereto Instructions for Inspectors on pavement work.

Since the publication of the original pamphlet in 1907 no little advance has been made in the design and construction of street pavements and the framing of specifications for that work. Aside from the personal study and efforts of individual engineers, the Association for Standardizing Paving Specifications, organized in the latter part of 1909, has held four important conventions, devoted to the improvement and standardization of specifications for street pavements, and its able standing Committees have devoted much time and thought to the subject. The American Society of Municipal Improvements has also devoted much attention to the subject and has adopted standard specifications for most of the common kinds of pavement. Other organizations have been working along the same lines.

Under these circumstances it might be thought that there is no longer any pressing need for the continuance of individual efforts in this field, and it has been with some hesitation that the author has returned to it. Without venturing to criticise the work done by these public organizations it has seemed to the author that there is yet room for individual work in this field, if for no other reason than that there still remain quite divergent views not only as to the substance, but as to the form, scope and phraseology of specifications, and contributions based upon some knowledge and experience in street pavement may not be without value in reaching final conclusions.

As might be expected experience and observation during the past five years have, in a number of particulars, modified the author’s opinions and shown where the original specifications offered might be improved and enlarged, so that while, in the main, those now offered follow the original text, the reader will find not a few changes. There has also been added specifications for two comparatively new kinds of roadway pavement that have merited attention, and for concrete sidewalk and concrete combined curb and gutter.

So far as the author is aware there has not been printed, in America at least, any complete and comprehensive code of instructions for pavement inspectors, though there appears to be a demand, as there certainly is a need, for something of the kind.

Having been asked about a year since to prepare such a set of instructions for the use of one American city, the author has rewritten parts of them in a more general form, and they are printed (with the permission of the engineer for whom they were written) as Part II of this edition. While they would need some revision and modification to meet the conditions and special specification provisions in any particular city, it is thought they may be useful in at least suggesting the points to be covered.

CONTENTS

PART I
SPECIFICATIONS FOR STREET ROADWAY PAVEMENTS

INTRODUCTORY

In addition to their value as memoranda and aids in preparing specifications for a particular project, carefully prepared general specifications, embodying the latest approved practice, sometimes supply the most useful and acceptable brief treatises upon any particular branch of engineering work. It has been partly with this thought in mind that the following set of specifications for standard street pavements has been prepared and is now offered to city engineers and municipal authorities.

To widen their range and increase their usefulness, copious foot notes have been added, referring to alternative requirements and methods of construction, and giving some of the reasons for the preference or adoption of the construction called for in the specifications. It is recognized that in a good many matters of detail embraced in these specifications there is difference of opinion among able engineers, many of whom are at least as competent as the writer to determine what is best. They are not offered in a dogmatic spirit, or with the hope that all the provisions found therein will be accepted. If they shall be of some assistance in bringing about correct standards for such specifications, their preparation will have been justified.

Theoretically, three general classes of engineering specifications may be noted. In the first, the aim of the engineer is to specify the end or result that it is desired to secure, leaving the contractor free to originate and follow the methods by which these results are to be attained. In the second the engineer aims to secure the desired end by specifying in detail the materials and the methods which in his opinion will accomplish the purpose, he himself assuming responsibility for the results. Either of these two classes of specifications is permissible, and the engineer may choose the one which in his opinion seems best adapted to the character of the work to be done, and the conditions under which it must be prosecuted.

In the third class of specifications, met with more frequently than they should be, the engineer undertakes to prescribe not only the character of the materials to be used and the methods to be pursued, but also the results to be attained. The position thus assumed is illogical, and often unreasonable, and may lead to complications between the engineer and the contractor. If a contractor be required to turn out a product which shall conform to certain standards, he may properly be given much, if not full latitude, as to how the stipulated results shall be secured, and may be held fully responsible for the outcome; if on the other hand the engineer chooses to specify with more or less minuteness the character of the materials to be used and the methods of construction to be followed, and enforces compliance therewith, it seems fair and just that he should assume responsibility for the results produced, and therefore unfair to hold the contractor to responsibility for consequences arising from the use of materials and methods which he was allowed no choice or latitude in selecting.

In street paving work, of well-known and standard character, the second class of specifications seems preferable for a number of reasons, the leading one being that the time required to develop the good or bad quality of the work must usually extend over a considerable number of years, and the conditions to which the pavement may be subjected in the meantime are likely to vary so widely that it may be very difficult, if not impossible, to prescribe a satisfactory standard of service and endurance. Disputes are therefore liable to arise between the municipality and the contractor as to the latter’s liability, or conditions may make it difficult or impossible to hold the contractor to strict account for that liability.

It is believed that in the present state of the art it is entirely practicable to so frame specifications for the materials to be used and the methods to be followed in the construction of standard street pavements, and to so enforce compliance therewith, that the engineer and the municipality may safely assume responsibility for the quality of the work produced. While it may be true that local conditions sometimes make it very difficult to enforce compliance with specifications, the same conditions are likely to make it at least equally difficult to secure effective responsibility on the part of the contractor for any long-period guarantee of the work done by him; and the contractor who negligently or purposely violates the specifications during construction is not likely to be more faithful or scrupulous in living up to any guarantees he may make with regard to the future, even where the terms and conditions of such guarantees may be clearly defined and indisputable. The writer has discussed the subject of time guarantees as applied to street pavements pretty fully in his book, “Municipal Public Works,” and the above brief statement seems all that is necessary here.

In conformity with this view of the matter, the following specifications aim to set out as definitely and clearly as practicable the requirements for the construction of good pavements of the several standard kinds, and it is assumed that the engineer will be able to, and will enforce them.

It is, however, not infrequently the case that the engineer will be called upon to prepare specifications for new, or patented, or proprietary pavements advocated by their promoters, the value or usefulness of which have not been sufficiently established by experience, and for which the data for detailed, definite specifications are not yet available.

In such cases the wisest course to follow is to confine the precise specifications to the general or standard parts of the work, while stipulating only the results to be attained with regard to those features of the work that are proprietary or questionable, thus placing upon the promoter or his contractors full responsibility for such results as are promised or guaranteed. This applies to new or comparatively untried materials or processes, whether patented or not.

A proposed form of general specifications to cover such cases is offered herein.

It is usually unwise to adopt or to incorporate in the municipal specifications those prepared or offered by the promoter or patentee, which are often brief, incomplete, and indefinite, and are sometimes carefully, and even cunningly, drawn to evade final responsibility.

No attempt has been made to submit specifications for proprietary or patented pavements, or those composed wholly or in part of materials which are patented or protected by trade-marks. The owners or contractors engaged in constructing these pavements, often, if not usually, claim the right to dictate the material parts of the specifications under which such work shall be done, and the municipal engineer who is called upon to construct such pavements, must, in each case, determine whether the specifications offered are adequate and satisfactory, and the extent to which he feels justified in accepting responsibility for the results. Naturally, the contractor or promoter, even if competent to prepare specifications, cannot be expected to bind himself within closer limits than he thinks necessary to secure the work. In many such cases the form of general specifications for “untried or experimental pavements” given herein might appropriately be used.

The engineer is, in common with all men, fallible, and he can hardly hope, in the preparation of specifications, to make them perfect; to cover every item and particular; or to escape some ambiguities of expression, and some degree of indefiniteness. The writer can only claim that he has aimed, in the light of a considerable experience, to set out as fully and definitely as practicable the requirements for the proper construction of high-class street pavements, and has endeavored to avoid loose or obscure terms and expressions. The ideal specification is one that furnishes a wholly sufficient guide to the accomplishment of the desired purpose; that provides for every possible contingency which may arise, and is couched in language which not only means exactly what it was intended to mean, but is incapable of any other interpretation. It is needless to say that no example of such a perfect specification can be instanced as a model.

It has been the aim to make these specifications fair and just to the contractor; that is, to require of him no impracticable or indefinite service, or the assumption by him of risks other than those fairly involved in the business conduct of the work.

If the plans and specifications for any work which a contractor bids upon are so full, specific, and clear, that he may know exactly what he will be expected to do, and if they do not require him to assume unusual chances and risks, he may intelligently name prices which he believes will compensate him for the service. Having done so, his proposal having been accepted, and a contract entered into accordingly, the engineer and the municipality have a right both in law and equity to demand that he will do exactly and fully what he has contracted to do. No excuses on his part can be valid and none should be accepted. He may in all fairness and justness be required to “toe the mark” strictly. To the neglect to recognize and enforce these principles is chargeable the greater part of the poor and unsatisfactory work so common in street pavement work in our cities. Unexpected contingencies may, of course, arise where some changes and concessions may be proper and just, but these should be, and usually are, very rare. On the other hand, sweeping general clauses in contracts and specifications intended to catch the contractor “goin’ or comin’,” unnecessarily stringent stipulations which were never intended to be strictly enforced, but were put into the specifications with the idea that they would help hold the contractor up to a high standard, and “one-sided” contracts intended to give the municipality an unfair advantage over the contractor, are as inadvisable in policy as they are wrong in principle. Nothing should be put in a specification that is not clearly essential to secure the results aimed at, and, this having been done, every requirement should be enforced. The existence in specifications of requirements that are not intended to be enforced, gives the contractor a pretext for neglecting others that may be important.

In these specifications will be found a number of details that are often not regarded as important and which, when found in paving specifications, the contractor is frequently allowed to ignore. In the writer’s opinion, based upon his experience in street paving, every one of these requirements is essential to the production of high-class work, which, it is hardly necessary to argue, is, in the end, the most economical work from the standpoint of the municipality.

It may be argued that the adoption and enforcement of these specifications would have the effect of raising prices. In many cases this would doubtless prove true. Contractors are entitled to a fair and reasonable compensation for their services. It is admitted that in some cities the prevailing prices for some kinds of pavements are below the actual cost of the work if it were done in a proper manner, conforming strictly to the specifications. Illogical as it undoubtedly is, the low price at which work is taken is sometimes considered a sufficient reason for accepting work below standard. The consequence is that bidders not only count upon concessions and lax enforcement of the specifications, but bid lower and lower, expecting that further concessions will enable them to get out with an undeserved profit. This is one of the most serious evils in the paving business to-day, and the highest public interests demand a thorough reform. Low first cost, desirable as it may be, is the poorest economy if it be secured at the sacrifice of the quality of the work. If one pavement costs twenty per cent. more than another, but renders forty per cent. more service, it is obviously the cheaper of the two.

Contractors are prone to contend that this or that provision in a specification is unusual, unnecessary or unfair. In dealing with them the engineer should bear in mind that no requirement of a specification that is clearly and definitely stated, so that the bidder may understand exactly what it means and what he will be expected to do, and may frame his prices accordingly, can be unreasonable or unfair to the contractor. Unusual or unnecessary requirements may result in unwarrantably increasing the cost of the work, and this may raise a question between the engineer and the municipality employing him, but it can furnish no occasion for questions of fairness or unfairness between the contractor and the engineer.

The relations that should exist between the contractee and the contractor, and the attitude of the engineer toward the contractor have been widely discussed and are quite well understood from both the ethical and legal standpoint.

It is well to bear in mind that when a contract is duly entered into, both the parties thereto are equal before the law. Neither can impose upon the other terms or conditions that are not clearly included in or to be fairly inferred from the contract itself. The assumption that either party has superior or extra rights not expressed or to be fairly inferred from the written agreement, or in accordance with the established rulings of the courts, is wholly without warrant. The smallest contractor is, in this respect, upon an equal footing with the largest city government for which he may undertake to do contract work. It is not infrequently the case that the city assumes a superior and dictatorial attitude not in harmony with these principles, and it is too common for the contractor to seek to evade or to escape from clear contractural obligations. In neither case is the action warranted by fairness, justice, or law.

It should be needless to say that the attitude of the engineer toward the contractor should be one of unyielding and uncompromising requirement that the contract and specifications shall be fully and faithfully complied with, but at the same time one of absolute fairness and even helpfulness to the contractor. The ideal relation, which should be more commonly attainable than it appears to be, is that of helpful cooperation to bring about the results the contract and specifications were intended to secure.

In line with the principles here outlined some observations upon the preparation of contracts and specifications are appropriate.

It is the general practice to include in and make a part of “The Contract” (herein for convenience called The General Contract) all the various documents that are supposed to relate directly to the transaction as a whole. The separate parts of such a general contract may vary in number or character, but the principal ones are the following:

1. The advertisement for proposals.

2. Instructions to bidders.

3. The proposal submitted.

4. The contract proper.

5. The specifications.

Each of these should be drawn to cover fully and clearly its appropriate purpose or function but nothing more. It is not unusual to find, even in the instructions to bidders, stipulations that properly belong in the contract or specifications, and it is quite common to find in the contract proper a lot of matter that properly belongs in the specifications only. In such cases there is liable to be more or less confusion as to the actual meaning or requirements of the general contract as a whole, which may lead to serious misunderstandings and complications between the parties thereto. The several documents composing the general contract are likely to be prepared by different persons, looking at the transaction from different points of view, and often not wholly familiar with the scope, intent and language of the other documents. There is therefore a possibility, at least, of indefinite, if not of conflicting expressions which are open to different interpretations, particularly in the light of special or unexpected conditions that may arise during the progress of the work or the settlement therefor. It would tend to eliminate or avoid the possibility of such complications if each of the several documents confined itself strictly to its appropriate function in the general contract.

Advertisements for proposals may be divided into two general classes. The one is brief in form and substance, simply stating that proposals for a certain named work will be received at a stated place and time, and referring those interested to documents on file at a stated place for all further information. This is the general form adopted by the United States War Department for the many projects carried out by contract under its direction. A sample advertisement taken from a current technical journal is as follows;

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF the Supervising Architect, Washington, D. C., October 10, 1912. Sealed Proposals will be received at this office until 3 o’clock p. m. on the 1st day of November, 1912, and then opened, for an electric passenger elevator in the United States post office, Bellingham, Wash., in accordance with the drawing and specification, copies of which may be had at this office at the discretion of the Supervising Architect. OSCAR WENDEROTH, Supervising Architect.

The other general class of advertisement, very commonly used by municipal corporations, is much longer and more elaborate, giving a condensed statement of the character of the work to be done, the conditions under which proposals are invited and will be received, and a schedule of the quantities of work involved, together with other particulars. A typical example of such an advertisement, taken from the same periodical, is here given:

PUMPING MACHINERY—ROSELAND PUMPING STATION

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Chicago, Ill., October 2, 1912.

Sealed proposals will be received by the City of Chicago until 11 A. M. Wednesday, October 30, 1912, at Room 406, City Hall, for furnishing and erecting at Roseland Pumping Station one vertical triple expansion crank and fly wheel pumping engine of a capacity of twenty-five million (25,000,000) gallons per day against a normal head of one hundred and forty feet (140′). This proposal also includes the dismantling of a similar engine now at Lake View Pumping Station, transporting and erecting it at Roseland Pumping Station, together with the furnishing and erection of certain auxiliaries and appurtenances, according to plans and specifications on file in the office of the Department of Public Works of said city, Room 406, City Hall.

Proposals must be made out upon blanks furnished at said office, and be addressed to said Department, indorsed “Proposals for Pumping Machinery, Roseland Pumping Station,” and be accompanied with Five Thousand ($5,000) Dollars in money or a certified check for the same amount on some responsible bank located and doing business in the City of Chicago and made payable to the order of the Commissioner of Public Works.

The Commissioner of Public Works reserves the right to reject any or all bids. A deposit of One Hundred Dollars ($100) will be required to insure safe return of the plans.

No proposal will be considered unless the party offering it shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner of Public Works of his ability, and that he has the necessary facilities together with sufficient pecuniary resources to fulfill the conditions of the Contract and Specifications, provided such Contract should be awarded to him.

Companies or firms bidding will give the individual names as well as the name of the firm with their address.

L. E. McGANN,

Commissioner of Public Works.

Such advertisements as this may be required by statutes or ordinances, and in that case are, of course, proper and necessary. Even where not so required they may be considered advantageous, because they give prospective bidders more complete information as to the character and magnitude of the work, and may enable them to decide at once whether they care to pursue the matter further. But on the whole, the shorter form of advertisement, if permissible, seems preferable, because it refers the enquirer directly to the original and official sources of information, the forms to be used, the contract, specifications and estimated quantities of work, exactly as they will and must be presented to all bidders, and as they will appear in the subsequent stages of the transaction, and leaves, therefore, no room for possible confusion of statements between the advertisement and the other documents. Furthermore, the cost of the shorter form of advertisement is much less, and this is often a matter of some importance.

Instructions to bidders should be confined strictly to such information and directions as the bidder may need to properly and intelligently make up and submit his proposal in accordance with the requirements relating thereto. This should include primarily, a reference to the contract and specifications for all general and detailed information about the work to be done, but should carefully avoid any statements or language that might be construed to add to, take from, limit or modify the contract or specifications. Perhaps the briefest and best statement of what this document should or should not contain is that it should be so framed that, except as a matter of record, its office and usefulness should absolutely end with the award and signing of the contract.

No one who is not a lawyer can presume to say just what the contract proper should contain or cover, particularly as this may vary with the requirements of statutes and ordinances in force in a given city. It would seem logical and proper, however, to separate the special functions of contracts and specifications in such a way that each should cover a distinct field of its own, and be free from encroachment upon the proper domain of the other. With such a conception of the proper domain of each, one might safely say that the contract should undertake to set out only the legal and contractural relations of the parties thereto, and should refer to the plans and specifications for all detailed instructions as to the actual performance of the work and the results to be secured.

In the preparation of specifications for any public work the main points to be kept in mind are fulness, definiteness, and exact expression. While brevity and conciseness are desirable qualities in any document, they should not be secured at the expense of completeness and precision of statement. Even the frequent repetition of words, phrases and sentences throughout a document, where it is necessary to avoid the possibility of misunderstanding or ambiguity, should be resorted to freely. Exact description and definition are more important than literary style, though they may often be successfully combined. Of course, it is not possible or necessary to go into minute detail with regard to every part of the work. Certain things may be safely assumed to be required by established practice or trade usage. If, for instance, it is specified that certain lumber shall be “dressed” this word has a well-understood meaning in the trade and it is unnecessary to stipulate how the dressing shall be done or its character or quality, though it may be necessary to say whether it is to be dressed on one or more sides.

The proper preparation of specifications for any work involves a clear, distinct and complete conception, determination and design of what is to be done; of the conditions that are likely to be met with in carrying it out; and of alternate plans that these conditions may necessitate. This may not always be possible, for the engineer is not omniscient. But careful study and maturity of design will enable him to avoid the great majority of such indefinite expressions as “or in such other manner as the engineer may direct,” “in accordance with the instructions of the engineer,” etc. A great many of the items to which such expressions are intended to and do apply in practice, could be definitely settled before the specifications are prepared and thus all uncertainty on the part of both engineer and contractor be avoided. To illustrate: specifications for block pavement commonly stipulate that the blocks shall be set in rows running at right angles to the axis of the street, except at street intersections, where the engineer may direct them to be laid at a different angle. There is usually no good reason why the engineer should not determine beforehand at which, if any, street intersections the general rule should be changed and so state in the specifications. These may be and usually are unimportant matters which may not much affect one way or the other the cost to the contractor. But they often prove otherwise, and the contractor is entitled to know when he submits his proposal just what he will be required to do. Of course it may develop during the progress of the work that changes from the original plan will become necessary, but these should be provided for in some such definite and previously stipulated manner as outlined in Sect. 3 of the following specifications.

The practice of inserting, either in the specifications or the contract, a clause making the engineer judge and arbiter in any differences that may arise between the city and the contractor, and providing that his decision in all such cases shall be final, is as unwise as it is often illegal. Such clauses are based on the assumption that the engineer is a competent as well as a disinterested party in the transaction, an assumption that is usually wholly wrong, though to their honor it may be said that the confidence thus reposed in engineers is seldom abused. But the fact is that the engineer is never actually a disinterested party. He is employed and paid by the city to look after its interests, and is under no obligations to the contractor other than those named in the contract and specifications and his sense of justice, propriety and professional honor. He would be recreant to his duty if in all nicely balanced matters of doubt he did not espouse the side of his employer. Moreover, his personal interests are often involved. Having prepared the plans, specifications and estimates for the work, he is naturally and properly anxious that it shall be successful and that the cost shall not exceed that estimated. Under all these conditions it is hardly possible for any human being to be a wholly disinterested and unprejudiced judge. No broad-minded and conscientious engineer desires to be placed in such a difficult position, and it is as unfair as it is unwise and improper to require him to assume it.

There are, however, a number of matters of fact in reference to which it is proper and necessary to make the judgment and decision of the engineer controlling and final, unless it may be shown that his decision is clearly erroneous or affected by improper motives, or by fraud. Some one must necessarily be made the immediate and final judge as to whether the quality of materials and workmanship is in accordance with the requirements of the plans and specifications, and as to the quantity of work actually performed, and these duties and responsibilities are very properly placed upon the engineer.

It not infrequently occurs that specifications are not drawn as clearly as they should be in the matters of methods of measuring the work and of applying contract unit prices, and indefiniteness and carelessness in this regard are often a source of misunderstanding and dispute between the engineer and the contractor. It is a good practice, followed by many able engineers, after specifying how a certain part of the work shall be done, to state how it shall be measured and paid for at the contract unit prices.

In many respects it is desirable that all the work to be done under contract should be quite fully itemized, and a unit price named for each kind of work. It is the custom in many cities to name only certain leading items of the work to be done under a paving contract, as for the pavement complete, furnishing and setting new curbing, redressing and resetting old curbing, and possibly a few other leading items, and to require that all necessary incidental work shall be done by the contractor without cost to the city; or, in other words, he must take this possible extra work into consideration in naming his unit prices for the leading items of the work. As the quantity of this incidental work is often not stated, and the contractor has no means of ascertaining it, he must guess, as intelligently as he may be able, how much he should add to his unit prices to cover its cost. If he is a prudent contractor he will be sure to add enough to prevent any possible loss on this account. In most cases the quantities of this incidental work can be determined and scheduled by the engineer with the more important items, and the contractor may be required to name unit prices for it. True, there are likely to develop during the progress of the work some items that could not be foreseen or that were overlooked. In some cities such contingencies are provided for by a clause in the contract or specifications scheduling, by name, all the incidental minor items of work that experience has shown are likely to be met with in street paving contracts, and naming fair unit prices which the contractor will be paid for each, should it occur. The contractor may then feel assured that however much the quantity of such incidental work may vary, he will receive compensation proportionate thereto, and he may name his prices for the main items with more confidence. Under such conditions it is reasonable to expect closer figures than he would be willing to name if an unknown quantity of incidental work for which no separate pay is provided had to be taken into consideration.

Sub-division of unit prices is also desirable in order that the engineer may be able to analyze and record the elements that make up the aggregate cost of the work. Thus, in the case of the construction of a new sheet asphalt pavement it is common to ask for a single price for the pavement complete, including a five year guarantee. Now the work will consist of several distinct operations or kinds of work for each of which a separate price might be named:

1. The grading of the street and preparation of the sub-grade. The quantity of this work will vary on different streets and is best reckoned by the cubic yard of material excavated.

2. A price, either per cubic yard or per square yard for the concrete foundation.

3. A price per square yard for the asphalt pavement proper. This might, if desired, be sub-divided into separate prices for the base-course and the surface-course.

4. A price per square yard for guaranteeing the pavement for five years.

Such sub-division would, it is true, increase the work of final computation but if of no other value, the detailed costs would be a great aid to the engineer in estimating the reasonable cost of future work where the relative quantity of these detailed parts varied.

SPECIFICATIONS

For Grading and Paving, or Repaving

with.. ........ ........ .............. .... Pavement

on a... ......... .......... ...... Foundation, the Roadway

of..... ........ ........... ............ . ............

Street, from...... .......... ............. .............

to. ....... ....... ........... ............ ........

together with work incidental thereto.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WORK

The work embraced in and to be done under this contract consists of grading the entire street from curb to curb between the limits named, including the removal or readjustment of the pavement now on the roadway, setting and resetting curbing, laying or relaying sidewalks where required, furnishing all new material and performing all the labor required for paving the roadway, together with all incidental work necessary to complete the whole in a proper manner, in accordance with the contract, the plans on file in the office of the City Engineer, these Specifications and the instructions of the City Engineer, herein referred to as the Engineer, or his authorized agents.

REFERENCES

The numbered divisions of these specifications are herein designated as “sections,” each being referred to by the number standing at its beginning. Where reference is herein made to any such section number it shall be considered equivalent to a quotation of that section.

The plans and drawings relating to this work, on file in the office of the City Engineer are designated as ...

1. Authority.—Wherever, in these specifications, the words, the City, are used, they shall be understood to refer to the duly constituted municipal government of the city of ... or its authorized agents, acting within the authority specifically conferred upon them by the said municipal government.[^[1]]

Wherever, in these specifications, the words, the Engineer, shall be used, they shall be understood to refer to the City Engineer of said city, or his deputies or assistants, acting within the authority conferred upon them by the City Engineer.

But no agent of the city shall have power to revoke, alter, enlarge or relax the stipulations or requirements of these specifications, except in so far as such authority may be specifically conferred in or by the specifications themselves, without the formal authorization so to do, conferred by the contract of which these specifications are a part, or by ordinance, resolution or other usual official action of the city.[^[2]]

2. Interpretation.—In case of any actual or alleged disagreement or discrepancy between the contract, these specifications, and the plans for the work on file in the office of the Engineer, the language and provisions of the contract shall take precedence and prevail; and the Engineer shall determine in each case whether the specifications or the plans shall be followed.

3. The Engineer shall have the right to make such changes in the plans and specifications of the work as he may deem necessary or desirable or to provide for unexpected conditions or contingencies that may develop at any time after the signing of the contract, or during the progress, or before the final acceptance of the work; provided that all such changes do not involve an aggregate increase or decrease in the cost of the work, as shown by his estimates, of more than ten (10) per cent. The contractor shall accept such changes when made, as a part of the original contract and specifications, subject to all the provisions and conditions thereof. But before any such changes shall become valid and before the contractor shall begin the particular work involved in such changes, the increased or decreased cost of the work by reason of such changes, above or below what it would have been under the original plans and specifications, shall be agreed upon in writing between the engineer and the contractor. And when the whole work, including such changes, shall have been completed and accepted by the engineer, the sum or sums so agreed upon shall be added to or deducted from the sum that would have been due the contractor if no such changes had been made.

4. Quality of Material and Work.—The judgment and decision of the Engineer as to whether the materials supplied and the work done under this contract comply with the requirements of these specifications, shall be conclusive and final. No material shall be used in the work until it has been examined and approved by the Engineer, or his authorized agents. All rejected material must be promptly removed from the work and replaced with that which is acceptable to the Engineer, and all improper or defective work must be corrected, and, if necessary, removed and reconstructed so as to comply with these specifications and the instructions of the Engineer.

In all matters of detail not specifically covered by the specifications the work shall be well and skillfully done in accordance with the best trade or art customs and standards for work of like character and purpose.

5. Inspection.—The Engineer may provide for the inspection, by assistants and inspectors under his direction, of all materials used and all work done under this contract. Such inspection may extend to all or any part of the work, and to the preparation or manufacture of materials to be used, whether within the limits of the work on the street, or at any other place. The Engineer and his inspectors shall have free access to all parts of the work, including mines, quarries, manufactories, or other places where any part of the materials to be used is procured, manufactured or prepared. The Contractor shall furnish the Engineer all information relating to the work and the material therefor which the Engineer may deem necessary or pertinent, and with such samples of materials as may be required. The Contractor shall, at his expense, supply inspectors with such labor and assistance as may be necessary in the handling of materials for proper inspection. Inspectors shall have authority to reject defective material and to suspend any work that is being improperly done, subject to the final decision of the Engineer. Inspectors shall have no authority to permit deviations from, or to relax any of the provisions of these specifications without the written permission or instruction of the Engineer; nor to delay the Contractor by failure to inspect materials and work with reasonable promptness.

The payment of any compensation, whatever may be its character or form, or the giving of any gratuity, or the granting of any valuable favor, by the Contractor to any inspector, directly or indirectly, is strictly prohibited, and any such act on the part of the Contractor will constitute a violation of these specifications.[^[3]]

6. Injuries to Persons and Property.—The Contractor shall be held alone responsible for all injuries to persons, and for all damages to the property of the city or others, caused by or resulting from the negligence of himself, his employees or agents, during the progress of, or connected with the prosecution of the work, whether within the limits of the work, or elsewhere. He must restore all injured property, including sidewalks, curbing, sodding, pipes, conduits, sewers and other public or private property to a condition as good as it was when he entered upon the work.

7. Sanitary Conveniences; Nuisances.—The Contractor shall provide all necessary privy accommodations for the use of his employees on the street, and shall maintain the same in a clean and sanitary condition. He shall not create nor permit any nuisance to the public or to residents in the vicinity of the work.

8. Public Convenience.—No material, or other obstruction shall be placed within five feet of fire hydrants, which must be at all times readily accessible to the Fire Department.

During the progress of the work the convenience of the public and of the residents along the street must be provided for as far as practicable. Convenient access to driveways, houses and buildings along the street must be maintained wherever possible. Temporary approaches to and crossings of intersecting streets and sidewalks must be provided and kept in good condition, wherever practicable.

9. Barriers, Lights, Watchmen.—The Contractor shall provide and maintain such fences, barriers, “street closed” signs, red lights, and watchmen as may be necessary to prevent avoidable accidents to residents and to the public.

10. Disorderly Employees.—Disorderly, intemperate, or incompetent persons must not be employed, retained, or allowed upon the work. Foremen or workmen who neglect or refuse to comply with the instructions of the Engineer, shall, at his request, be promptly discharged, and shall not thereafter be re-employed without his consent.

11. Order and Progress of Doing Work.—The work under this contract shall be prosecuted at as many different points, at such times, and in such sections along the line of the work, and with such forces as the Engineer may from time to time deem necessary, and direct, to secure its completion within the contract time. Not more than one thousand (1,000) linear feet of the street shall be torn up, obstructed or closed to travel at any one time without the written permission of the Engineer. Completed portions of the pavement shall be opened to travel as directed by the Engineer, but such opening shall not be construed as an acceptance by the City of the work done. Where thus opened to public travel by the direction of the Engineer, the Contractor will not be held responsible for injuries to the work caused by such travel or public use, pending the final completion and acceptance of the whole work.

12. Grade and Contour of Pavement.—Roadway pavements shall be laid to such grades, crown and contour of surface as the plans may show or the Engineer may direct, and the surface of the completed pavement shall conform accurately to such grades, crown and contour. The designed surface of the completed pavement shall be considered as the datum or plane of reference in fixing the location or level of the sub-grade, of the pavement foundation, and of structures connected therewith. It will be hereafter referred to in these specifications as “The pavement datum.”

13. City Monuments or Stakes.—The Contractor must carefully protect from disturbance or injury all city monuments, stakes and benchmarks, and shall not excavate nearer than five feet to any of them without the permission of the Engineer; or until they have been removed, witnessed, or otherwise disposed of by the Engineer.

14. Old Material.—All material or structures removed from the street and not required for the new construction, but which the city may desire to reserve, shall be delivered and neatly piled up in a corporation yard or elsewhere, by the Contractor, as the Engineer may direct. Such reserved material shall be considered in the custody of the Contractor until delivered at the place designated, and he will be held responsible for its care and protection, and must make good any losses occasioned by damage, theft, or misappropriation while it is on the street or en route to the place of storage. If the Contractor shall be required to haul such reserved material more than one-half mile, he shall be paid a reasonable price, to be agreed upon in advance, for the haul exceeding that distance.

Material taken from the work which is to be used in the new construction shall be compactly piled where it will least obstruct the sidewalks or adjoining sections of the street, and properly protected by the Contractor until it is required for use.

All old material removed from the work, including the material excavated in preparing the sub-grade, not reserved by the City nor to be used again in the work, shall belong to the Contractor and must be removed by him from the street as promptly as possible. It must not be placed on the sidewalks or adjacent streets, nor on any other street or property belonging to the City, nor on the property of private owners, without the written consent of the Engineer, or the owner of the property.

15. Storage of New Material.—The material for construction when brought upon the street shall be neatly piled so as to cause as little obstruction to travel as possible, and so that it may be conveniently inspected.

16. Rebuilding and Adjusting Street Structures.—Catch basins, manhole, sewer and water frames and covers, sewer inlets, water pipes and other conduits, belonging to the City and within the limits of the work, shall, if necessary, be reset to the new lines and grades of the street and for this purpose good brick masonry of the original thickness, laid in Portland cement mortar shall be used. Great care must be taken to set all such structures as project through the pavement exactly to the grade and contour of the new street surface, and any defects in the conformity of such structures to the pavement datum, discovered at the time, or during the progress of the work, or during the guaranty period, stipulated in Sec. 25 shall be promptly remedied by the Contractor.

17. Clean Sidewalks.—During the progress of the work, the sidewalks and portions of the street adjoining the work, or in its vicinity, must not be obstructed or littered more than may be absolutely necessary, and the adjacent sidewalks must be kept clean.

18. 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. The separate stones shall be not less than three (3) feet long, at least eighteen (18) inches deep, not less than four and one-half (4½) inches wide at the top, nor less than three (3) inches wide at the bottom. The top shall be of uniform width for each line of headers, and shall be dressed square and even. The ends shall be dressed to secure a joint not wider than one-half (½) inch for a depth of six inches from the top, and the sides dressed so as to secure good contact and close jointing with the pavement. The stones shall be set accurately with their tops at the pavement datum, on a bed of concrete nine (9) inches wide and six (6) inches deep, and after being set the trench shall be filled and rammed full of gravel or crushed stone.

All existing pavements adjoining or abutting against the new pavement, with their crosswalks, curbs, and gutters, shall be adjusted, or taken up and relaid, to conform to and connect with the pavement datum, to such an extent as the Engineer may direct.

Where the new and adjoining pavement are of the same kind, and headers are not used, the new and the old pavement must be properly joined and connected, as the Engineer may direct.

Stone headers will be paid for by the linear foot at the contract price for that item, and the other work embraced in this section will be paid for at the contract prices for the several items, where such contract prices are provided; otherwise the work shall be considered as incidental work and shall be done at the expense of the Contractor.

19. Curbing to be Completed in Advance.—The setting of all new curbing and guttering and the redressing, resetting or readjustment of all old curbing must be completed at least 100 feet in advance of the construction of the street foundation.

20. Final Cleaning Up.—Immediately after the completion of the work or any consecutive portion of it, the Contractor shall remove from it all unused material, refuse and dirt placed by him on, or in the vicinity of the work, or resulting from its prosecution, and restore the street to a condition as clean as before the work was begun; and the new pavement shall be properly cleaned.

21. Measurements and Computations.—Unless otherwise distinctly provided in the contract and specifications, measurements, computations and payments will be based upon the actual quantities of completed work, customary or conventional methods of measurement and computation to the contrary notwithstanding.

The area of street pavement shall be reckoned in square yards of completed pavement surface, deducting manholes, inlets and other openings in the surface of the pavement having an area of over three (3) square feet. 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.

23. Incidental Work at Contractor’s Expense.—All the work to be done by the Contractor for which specific unit prices are not named in the contract, specified and enumerated in Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, as well as any minor details of work not specifically mentioned in the specifications, but obviously necessary for the proper completion of the work, shall be considered as incidental, and as being a part of and included with the work for which prices are named in the contract. The Contractor will not be entitled to any extra or additional compensation therefor.

24. Extra Work.—The City may require the Contractor to furnish such additional materials and to do such additional work, not provided for in the contract and these specifications, but which may be found necessary or pertinent to the proper prosecution and completion of the work embraced in the contract, at prices to be agreed upon in writing, in advance. But no work other than that included in the contract and these specifications and which is covered by and to be paid for at the prices named in the contract, shall be done by the Contractor except upon a written order from the Engineer, which order shall describe the work to be done and name the compensation agreed upon therefor. In the absence of such written order from the Engineer the Contractor will not be entitled to payment for any such additional or extra work.

In the same manner the city may omit or dispense with items or parts of the work, by previous agreement with the contractor, and a like written order by the engineer. But such additions, omissions or alterations shall not together increase or decrease the aggregate cost of the whole work more than fifteen per cent. (15%). Any changes in the plans, specifications, character of material used or method of doing the work that may increase or decrease the aggregate cost of the work more than fifteen per cent. (15%) may be authorized and validated only by a formal, supplemental contract, regularly executed by all the parties to the original contract.[^[4]]

25. Guaranty.[^[5]]—The Contractor shall guarantee that all the materials used and all the work done under this contract shall fully comply with the requirements of these specifications, the plans herein before referred to and the instructions of the Engineer. Any defects in the completed work, or any part of it, or any failure of the work to fully perform or endure the service for which it was intended, which, in the opinion of the Engineer, are attributable to the use of materials, skill, or workmanship not in compliance with the said specifications, plans and instructions, within a period of ... years after the date of the certificate of completion and acceptance, shall be regarded as prima facie and conclusive evidence that the Contractor has failed to comply with the said specifications, plans and instructions. And the Contractor shall, at his own expense, at such time and in such manner as the Engineer may direct, repair or take up and reconstruct any such defective work, in full compliance with the original specifications, plans and instructions. And as surety for the performance of this guaranty the Contractor’s bond, required by the contract, shall remain in full force until the expiration of the period of ... years above stipulated in this section.

PREPARING THE SUB-GRADE

26. 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. Places that are found to be loose, or soft, or composed of unsuitable material, below sub-grade, must be dug out and refilled with sand, or other material as good as the average of that found on the street.

Where the natural surface of the ground shall be below the sub-grade, or shall become so by the removal of old pavement or other structures, it must be filled to the sub-grade in layers not exceeding five inches in depth, and each layer shall be thoroughly rolled or rammed before the next layer is placed upon it, and when the filling is completed the filled area must be properly trimmed and compacted by rolling or ramming to the true sub-grade, as in excavation. The material excavated from the street may be used for such filling, provided it be of suitable quality. Where it cannot be thus procured from the street it must be obtained by the Contractor elsewhere, in which case the actual quantity so obtained, measured after it is compacted in the street, will be paid for at the contract price for “earth filling.” The price bid for “earth excavation” will be paid for all material excavated above the sub-grade, measured in place on the street, which price includes the cost of disposing of the excavated material, whether as waste or filling, and of trimming and rolling or ramming the sub-grade, and of making it ready for the pavement foundation.

After the excavation is completed and the surface neatly trimmed, the whole area shall be well compacted by rolling with a roller weighing not less than five tons. Areas inaccessible to the roller shall be rammed until they are as well compacted as the rolled surface. When the rolling is completed the surface must be nowhere more than three-fourths inch below, nor more than three-eighths inch above the true sub-grade. If, after the rolling is completed and before the pavement foundation is laid, the surface shall become disturbed in any way, it must be replaced and properly compacted.

Where the soil composing the sub-foundation is found to be wet or “springy,” a system of soft tile drains, discharging into the street drainage system, shall be constructed by the Contractor, as directed by the Engineer. The tile shall be laid in trenches about one foot wide and from one to two feet deep. After the tile is in place the trenches shall be filled with crushed stone or gravel, well compacted by tamping. The tile will be paid for per linear foot at the contract price for the same, which price shall include the cost of excavating and refilling the trenches with crushed stone.

PAVEMENT FOUNDATION

27. Pavement foundation shall consist of hydraulic concrete, or of old pavement stone relaid, or of broken stone or gravel, as may be herein specified, constructed upon the sub-grade.[^[6]]

HYDRAULIC CONCRETE FOUNDATION

28. Concrete.—Concrete shall be composed of Portland cement, sand, broken stone and water.

29. Portland Cement.[^[7]]—Portland cement shall be defined as the pulverized product resulting from the calcination to incipient fusion of an intimate mixture of properly proportioned argillaceous and calcareous materials, and to which no addition greater than three per cent. has been made subsequent to calcination.

Specific Gravity.—The specific gravity of the dry cement at a temperature of two hundred and twelve (212) degrees F. shall not be less than 3.10.

Fineness.—It shall be pulverized to such fineness that not more than eight (8) per cent. shall fail to pass a number one hundred (100) sieve and not more than twenty-five (25) per cent. shall fail to pass a number two hundred (200) sieve.

Time of Setting.—At the temperature of sixty (60) degrees F. mortar made of neat cement shall not begin to set in less than thirty (30) minutes, nor set hard in less than one hour, but must set hard within ten (10) hours.

Strength.—When thoroughly mixed dry with clean, sharp, moderately coarse sand, in the ratio by weight of one part cement to three parts of sand, and then made into stiff mortar, briquets made from this mortar and exposed for one day to moist air and immersed in water for the balance of the periods named below, shall develop a tensile strength per square inch not less than the following:

Constancy of Volume.—When subjected to standard tests for constancy of volume, the cement shall show no tendency to swell or crack.

Composition.—The cement shall not contain more than one and three-fourths (1.75) per cent. of anhydrous sulphuric acid, nor more than four (4) per cent. of magnesia.

Tests.—Cement tests shall be conducted in accordance with the methods recommended by the “Committee on Uniform Tests of Cement” of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Conditions.—All cement shall be supplied in original packages with the brand of the manufacturer marked on each package. It shall be protected during transportation from rain and moisture. It shall be delivered upon the work at least ten (10) days (exclusive of Sundays and holidays) before it is to be used, in order to allow of proper inspection, and the contractor shall furnish all necessary facilities for such inspection. Brands of cement without established good reputation, or not heretofore used in the City of ... may be rejected; or they will be accepted only after they satisfactorily pass the 28–day test. Rejected cement must be at once removed from the street.

30. Sand.—Sand for concrete shall be composed of grains not softer than hard limestone. It shall be moderately coarse and preferably made up of grains of varying size producing a mass with low percentage of voids. It shall not contain, in all, more than seven (7) per cent. by volume of clay, loam, mica scales, silt, or other objectionable inorganic matter, nor more than one (1) per cent. of organic matter.

31. Broken Stone.—Broken stone for concrete shall be of hard and sound limestone or other stone equally hard and durable, broken to a roughly cubical form. It shall be screened through efficient revolving screens, and only such fragments as have passed through circular screen openings two and one-half (2½) inches in diameter, shall be used. If the crushed dust and fine fragments be not screened out, the stone must be so handled that the fine material will be evenly distributed through the mass when it reaches the concrete platform or mixer.[^[8]]

32. Water.—Water used for concrete shall be fresh, and reasonably clean.

33. Care and Handling of Concrete Material.—Cement must not be allowed to become wet or damp. It shall be stored until used, whether in storehouses or on the street, so that no part of the packages shall be nearer than four (4) inches to the ground or pavement, and shall be effectually covered so that rain cannot reach it. Sand and stone, if stored on the street, shall be on lumber floors.[^[9]] The stone shall be thoroughly wetted a sufficient time before being placed in the concrete to allow any surplus water to drain away, but shall remain moist where it reaches the concrete platform or mixer.

34. Ratio of Concrete Materials.—Concrete will be composed of one part Portland cement, ... parts of sand and ... parts of broken stone, and the proper quantity of water, all measured by volume.[^[10]] The unit of measurement shall be the barrel of cement which shall be considered as containing four (4) cubic feet. The materials shall each be measured in such manner and with such accuracy that the quantities used will not vary more than seven (7) per cent. from the quantities required in the ratio named above for each batch of concrete.

35. Mixing Concrete.—If mixed by hand, concrete shall be mixed on platforms of iron or wood of sufficient size to admit of proper manipulation of the concrete. The sand shall be first spread evenly over the platform and the cement evenly distributed over the sand. These two materials shall then be mixed dry until a uniform and homogeneous mixture is secured. Sufficient water shall then be added and the mixing resumed and continued until a mortar of uniform consistency and texture is produced and distributed in an even layer over the platform. The stone shall then be distributed over the mortar and mixed therewith until the mortar is evenly distributed through the mass and every fragment of stone is well coated with mortar, sufficient additional water being added as the mixing progresses to produce a rather wet, but not sloppy, concrete.[^[11]] Machine mixing of concrete will be preferred, provided the machine used secures equal accuracy in the ratios of materials and equally as good mixing as prescribed above for hand-mixing. Machine-mixed concrete must be delivered from the machine upon a wood or metal platform, or directly into barrows.

36. Placing the Concrete.—Concrete shall be placed on the sub-grade in such a manner as to prevent as far as possible the separation of the mortar from the stone. It shall be evenly distributed in a single horizontal layer of such depth that, after ramming, it will be not less than ... inches thick. Immediately after being so placed it shall be well rammed until a compact mass is produced with its upper surface parallel to and ... inches below the pavement datum. Depressions that may appear during the ramming may be filled with concrete of the same composition as used for the foundation, except that smaller-sized stone shall be used; mortar alone must not be used for this purpose, nor shall the upper surface of the concrete be plastered with mortar. The surface of the concrete shall not be broomed or troweled.[^[12]]

37. Setting of Concrete.—After the concrete is completed it shall remain undisturbed until it be firmly set. The time allowed for setting shall not be less than five days, and as much longer as, in the judgment of the Engineer, may be necessary, depending upon the temperature of the weather and the setting qualities of the cement. During this period no hauling or traveling over the concrete must be permitted unless its surface be first protected by a covering of plank. The Contractor shall, if necessary, keep the concrete moist by wetting it, with hose, or otherwise, until twenty-four (24) hours before it is to be covered with the pavement surface.

38. Measurement of Concrete.—Concrete will be measured and computed in cubic yards as found completed on the street, the thickness being taken as ... inches. The contract price for concrete foundation covers the cost of providing all the materials required, making, placing and ramming the concrete, and keeping it moist for the necessary period.

FOUNDATION OF OLD PAVING STONE

39. Foundations made of old stone paving blocks shall be constructed as follows:

Upon the sub-grade prepared as specified in Section 26, shall be spread a layer of good sand to an even depth of one and one-half (1½) inches. The paving blocks, whether taken up from the street to be paved, or brought from other streets or storage yards, shall be cleaned of all adhering earth, dirt and street refuse. The blocks shall then be set on the bed of sand, on edge, perpendicular to the grade, with their long dimension at right angles to the line of the street, in courses composed of stones of the same width, extending entirely across and at right angles to the axis of the street. Stones in adjoining courses shall break joint at least two inches. Joints between courses or stones, or along the curbstones, shall not exceed one inch in width. The stone shall be fitted closely around manholes or other structures in the street. The stones shall be so set in the bed of sand that after being rammed as hereafter specified, their tops shall be at the proper grade. After being thus set in place the stone shall be rammed with paving rammers having wooden faces and weighing not less than thirty (30) pounds, so as to force each stone to a good bearing in the sand below, and to bring its top to a uniform grade, parallel to and ... inches below the pavement datum. No stone shall project more than one-fourth (¼) inch above the proper grade, and stones whose tops, after ramming, are more than one-half (½) inch below such grade, shall be raised, additional sand placed under them, and reset and re-rammed to the proper grade and bearing. After the ramming shall have been completed, the joints between the stones shall be filled with mortar. The mortar shall be composed of Portland cement and sand, complying with the specifications for these materials in Sections 29 and 30. One part of cement and three parts of sand, by volume, shall be thoroughly mixed dry, and then made into mortar with sufficient quantity of water to produce a mortar of such consistency that it will just flow freely into the joints between the stones. All the joints between the stones must be completely filled with this mortar before it has begun to set. The mortar filling shall be brought even with, but not above, the tops of the stones. After the filling is thus completed, the foundation must stand undisturbed until the mortar shall have set firmly, in no case less than five days. The mortar must be kept moist during the period allowed for setting.[^[13]]

Old stone foundation will be measured in square yards, in place after completion. The contract price includes the cost of handling and cleaning the stone, supplying and placing the bed of sand, setting and ramming the stone, supplying the materials for, making and placing the mortar in the joints and watering the street while the mortar is setting. Where stone is procured from other streets, or from storage yards, the Contractor will be required to load, haul and unload them, and will be allowed for this service a price of ... cents per cubic yard for loading and unloading, plus ... cents per cubic yard for each one-half mile, or fraction thereof, over which they are hauled by the nearest practicable route, the measurement to be made after the stone is set in the street, without deduction for joints.

40. Broken Stone Foundation.—The sub-grade for broken stone foundation shall be prepared as specified in Section 26, except that the rolling may be omitted at the option of the Contractor. The broken or crushed stone shall be of hard, durable stone. The foundation shall have an aggregate thickness of ... inches and shall be constructed in two courses, as follows:

The broken stone used in the first course shall be of such size that it will all pass through a screen having openings three (3) inches in diameter, and will all be retained on a screen having openings one (1) inch in diameter. This stone shall be evenly spread over the sub-grade to such a thickness that after being thoroughly consolidated by rolling, its upper surface shall be three-fourths inch below, and parallel to the surface of the foundation when completed. It shall then be rolled with a road-roller weighing not less than ten (10) tons until the stone is thoroughly compacted.

The second course, composed of screenings, all of which shall have passed through a screen with openings one inch in diameter, shall then be spread over the first course and well raked into the voids of the first course. It shall then be thoroughly wetted, and shall be rolled with the ten-ton roller until the fine stone is driven into the interstices of the first course and the whole thoroughly consolidated, the wetting being repeated while the rolling continues. Additional screenings shall be added and rolled in where necessary to bring the surface to the proper elevation. When completed, the top surface of the foundation shall be ... inches below, and parallel to the pavement datum. No part of the upper surface of the completed foundation shall project more than one-fourth (¼) inch above, nor shall it be more than one-half (½) inch below the grade and contour above specified.

Gravel of a quality satisfactory to the Engineer may with his written consent be substituted for broken stone. If of assorted sizes, such as will compress into a mass having not more than thirty (30) per cent. of voids, the foundation may be constructed in a single layer, graded, watered and rolled, as prescribed above for broken stone.[^[14]]

41. Measurement.—Broken stone and gravel foundation will be measured and computed by the cubic yard in the street as completed, without any allowance for consolidation by the roller or for settlement into the sub-grade, the thickness being taken as ... inches. The contract price for it shall cover the cost of supplying the material, placing it on the street, and grading, watering and rolling it.

SHEET ASPHALT PAVEMENT

Note.—A number of distinct varieties of asphalt are now used for asphalt pavements, either alone or mixed. These different varieties differ from each other quite widely in their physical and chemical properties. Thus, in the form called “refined asphalt” some of their properties are shown by the following table, the data for which is taken from the second edition of Richardson’s “The Modern Asphalt Pavement.”

The practice has been heretofore, and is at the present time, to attempt to make specifications for asphalt pavements broad enough to include all the various varieties of asphalts, under general requirements which shall admit these, and any new varieties that may appear on the market suitable for the purpose, the object being to permit a wide range of competition. This makes it exceedingly difficult if not impossible to frame specifications that shall be sufficiently explicit and at the same time sufficiently broad to admit these several differing materials. This practice has been adhered to in these specifications, though in this respect they are far from satisfactory to the author. So long as it continues to be the policy of cities to admit these various varieties of bitumen under the same general requirements for crude and refined material, such objectionable specifications cannot be avoided. Even with the great latitude now provided they exclude some materials with which good pavements have been made.

Two remedies for this unsatisfactory condition seem practicable.

1. A city might purchase a sufficient supply of refined asphalt for its use after asking for proposals under suitable specifications with alternative requirements for the different varieties on the market, and after bids are received and the samples accompanying them have been properly examined in the laboratory, award contracts for a supply of one or more kinds, as might seem best for the interests of the city. Stocks of these would be delivered, tested and stored accordingly, in good time for the season’s work. Specifications for construction with special reference to the kind of asphalt it is proposed to use could then be prepared, the contractors to be supplied with asphalt at the city storage yard at a stipulated price per ton. This plan would possess a number of advantages. A similar plan is quite commonly in use with reference to hydraulic cement.

2. Specifications might be framed with special reference to the properties and qualities to be possessed by the asphaltic cement, permitting a liberal range as to the crude and refined bitumens to be used in manufacturing this cement. This would be considered, at the present time, a radical departure from well established custom, but the author sees no reason why it should not be satisfactorily employed.

A sheet asphalt pavement is composed of two essential elements; a mineral aggregate made up of sand of assorted sizes and mineral “dust” and a bituminous cement. When properly compounded, manipulated and compressed these elements make up a bituminous concrete suitable for use as a wearing surface for streets and roads.

The character of the sand is important and we have now sufficient knowledge from experience to specify a sand that will give, approximately, the best results.

The bituminous cement is, however, the element of most importance, and upon its suitability for the purpose depends very largely the utility and durability of the pavements made with it.

It is important that this asphaltic cement shall possess certain properties and qualities, most of which we are now able to define satisfactorily, but others require further practical and experimental study, and some tests not now in use would doubtless be desirable.

It is not a matter of importance what particular crude or refined materials enter into the composition of this cement if the resulting product is satisfactory in use. The prime requisite is a paving cement that shall possess in a high degree the chemical and physical qualities required for making an asphalt pavement of the best quality. If we can devise standards and tests that will enable us to secure such a cement we need not be concerned about its antecedents.

It would be well worth while for paving engineers and those who have laboratory facilities to give attention to this matter. If it shall be found practicable to define satisfactorily the qualities the cement should possess without reference to the materials from which it is compounded, a great advance will have been made, and our asphalt paving specifications could not only be greatly simplified, but much greater precision and definiteness secured.

While great advances have been made in the art of building sheet asphalt pavements and in the framing of specifications for its construction, too many of the specifications still in use are antiquated, indefinite and unsatisfactory. Some of these contain requirements that, if literally enforced, would prevent the attainment of the best results. They are largely survivals of the time when little was known either practically or technically of the science and art of constructing the pavements, outside of the promoters and contractors in the business, who consequently dictated, in a large measure, the specifications used. City engineers were compelled to rely largely on the presumption that the guarantee clauses of the contracts would insure good results, and allowed the contractor wide latitude in the conduct of the work.

While there is undoubtedly much yet to learn, even by the experts, in the matter of the materials to be used, a quite satisfactory working basis has been arrived at, particularly as to the practical side of the work, and a large mass of data accumulated by study and experience is available to the municipal engineer, and the services of independent experts is readily obtainable. There is no longer any good reason, therefore, why the character of the materials to be used, the methods followed, and the quality of the work secured should not be quite definitely and fully specified in the same manner and to the same extent as in the case of other kinds of pavement and with equally satisfactory results.

SPECIFICATIONS

42. General.—Asphalt pavement surface shall be laid upon a foundation of hydraulic cement concrete, or of stone blocks relaid, over a sub-grade, to be constructed in accordance with Articles 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37.

Asphalt pavement surface shall be constructed in two courses, called the base-course and the surface-course. The base-course may be from one (1) inch to one and one-half (1½) inches thick, and the surface-course may be from one (1) inch to two (2) inches thick, as shall be hereafter specified.

43. Crude Asphalt.—The cementing element in asphalt pavements shall be prepared from crude native, solid asphalts or from the proper distillation of crude asphaltic oils.

Crude asphalts as obtained from the mines or natural deposits shall be properly refined to drive off water and to separate foreign substances, by melting at a temperature not exceeding four hundred and fifty degrees F. (450° F.). Crude asphalts of the quality commonly called “glance pitch” or “iron pitch” which do not distinctly soften at a temperature of two hundred degrees F. (200° F.), and detached or deteriorated material from deposits otherwise acceptable will be rejected.

44. Refined Asphalt.—Refined asphalt produced from native crude asphalt shall be free from water and shall not contain an injurious quantity of light oils or foreign matter. It shall not contain more than four per cent. (4%) of organic matter nor more than thirty-six per cent. (36%) of inorganic matter other than bitumen, and not more than eighteen per cent. (18%) of fixed carbon, and not less than fifty-five per cent. (55%) of bitumen soluble in cold carbon di-sulphide. Of the bitumen soluble in carbon di-sulphide not less than sixty-three per cent. (63%) shall be soluble in Pennsylvania petroleum naphtha of specific gravity eighty-eight (88) degrees Baume at a temperature of sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit (65° F.) and not less than ninety-eight per cent. (98%) shall be soluble in chemically pure carbon tetra-chloride. When exposed for seven hours to a temperature of three hundred and twenty-five degrees F. (325° F.) in a shallow dish the bottom of which is covered with bitumen to a depth of three-fourths (¾) inch, the refined asphalt shall not lose more than five per cent. (5%) by evaporation.

Asphalts that are injuriously affected, in the pavement, by water (to be determined by the test immediately hereinafter described), shall not be used except under the conditions specified in Section 45. Cylinders made from the surface mixture it is proposed to use, one (1) inch in diameter and two (2) inches long, compressed to a density of two and one-tenth (2.1), when immersed forty-five (45) days in ten (10) times their volume of rain-water, shall retain a sound surface, unchanged and uncorroded by the action of the water.

Refined asphalts resulting from the distillation of crude asphaltic oils will not be accepted unless the distillation shall have been effected by the use of suitable apparatus, at a temperature not exceeding seven hundred (700) degrees F. The bitumen must not be over-distilled and “cut back” by adding oil. The product, to be acceptable, shall possess the following qualities: It shall melt and flow at a temperature not below one hundred and forty (140) degrees F., but below a temperature of one hundred and eighty (180) degrees F., and when tested in the standard New York State closed oil-testing apparatus shall not flash at a temperature below four hundred and fifty (450) degrees F. When exposed in a shallow dish, the bottom of which is covered to a depth of three-fourths (¾) inch with the bitumen, to a temperature of four hundred (400) degrees F., for seven (7) hours, it shall not lose by evaporation more than seven (7) per cent. by weight. Not less than ninety-eight (98) per cent. shall be soluble in cold carbon di-sulphide, and not less than sixty-five (65) per cent., nor more than seventy-five (75) per cent. of the bitumen shall be soluble in cold Pennsylvania naphtha of gravity eighty-eight (88) degrees Baume. Not less than ninety-nine (99) per cent. of the bitumen shall be soluble in carbon tetra-chloride, and it shall not contain more than sixteen (16) per cent. of fixed carbon.[^[15]]

Bitumens resulting from destructive distillation or from artificial oxidation, and bituminous compounds prepared from oil or oil residuums heated with sulphur or other substances, or coal or gas tars, will not be accepted, nor shall they be mixed with the asphalt used.[^[16]]

45. Asphalts that are injuriously affected by water, and those whose practical value for making pavements has not been established, in the judgment of the City, by sufficient experience, will not be accepted except under such special bond and guaranty provisions as the City may prescribe.[^[17]]

46. Full information as to the source and character of the crude asphalt and the method of refining it shall be furnished to the Engineer and verified by such evidence as he may require.

47. Softening or Tempering Agent.—For softening and tempering refined asphalt, petroleum residuum oil or liquid asphalt shall be used. It shall be free from water, coke, and other impurities. Its specific gravity shall not be below 0.92, nor above 1.04. Its flash test (determined in the standard New York State closed oil-testing apparatus) shall not be under three hundred and fifty (350) degrees F., and when exposed for seven (7) hours to a temperature of three hundred and twenty-five (325) degrees F., in a shallow open dish, the bottom of which is covered by the oil to a depth of three-fourths (¾) inch, it shall not lose more than five (5) per cent. by evaporation. It shall not contain more than ten (10) per cent. of paraffine scale.

48. Sand.—A superior quality of sand will be required and this must be secured, if necessary, by the admixture of two or more sands. The sand shall be silicious and so free from organic matter, mica, soft grains, and other impurities, that these shall not aggregate more than two (2) per cent. of the mass. The grains shall, preferably, be moderately “sharp” or angular, and must be of assorted sizes so that the voids in the compacted mass of dry sand shall not exceed thirty three (33) per cent. A typical sand, to be approximated as closely as practicable, will give the following sieve tests, the sieves being used in the order named:

and none will fail to pass the No. 10 sieve.[^[18]]

49. Pulverized Stone.—This may consist of limestone or other sound stone or sand, pulverized to such fineness that the whole will pass the No. 50 sieve, not more than ten (10) per cent. will be retained on the No. 100 sieve, and at least seventy (70) per cent. of it will pass the No. 200 sieve. Portland cement may be partly substituted for pulverized stone, where the Engineer shall so direct.[^[19]] Portland cement thus used will be paid for at the price bid per barrel for the same, in addition to the price paid per square yard for the pavement surface. The pulverized material must be thoroughly dry when used.

50. Asphaltic Paving Cement.—Asphalt Paving Cement shall be prepared from the refined asphalt described in Sect. 44 and the tempering agent described in Sect. 47. The refined asphalt, together with the asphalt in the tempering agent, shall constitute not less than sixty per cent. (60%) of the asphaltic cement.

The refined asphalt and the tempering agent shall be mixed and melted together at a temperature not below two hundred and seventy-five degrees F. (275° F.), and not above three hundred and twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit (325° F.), and thoroughly incorporated by agitation until a homogeneous cement is produced. The agitation shall be continued until the cement is used.

The asphaltic cement at a temperature of seventy-seven degrees F. (77° F.) shall be of such consistency as to show a penetration of from forty to eighty hundredths of a centimeter, as the engineer may direct for each street, when tested with the standard Dow penetration apparatus, using a number two cambric needle loaded with one hundred grams. When a cement of a consistency satisfactory to the engineer has been produced and approved for any street a sample of it shall be kept as a standard and all subsequent batches or kettles must be made to conform thereto, suitable apparatus and tests being employed to determine the correspondence of each new batch with the standard.[^[20]] The asphaltic cement when at its melting temperature shall be so viscous that it will draw out into moderately long fine threads which shall be free from lumps or raggedness and shall possess satisfactory adhesive and cementitious qualities.[^[21]]

51. Composition and Preparation of Asphalt Surface Mixture.—The surface-course shall be composed of the materials specified in Sections 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50 mixed in such ratios by weight as the Engineer may direct or approve. A typical mixture will contain:

But the quantities of pulverized stone and of asphaltic cement shall be varied as may be found necessary or desirable by the Engineer to suit the purity of the asphaltic cement, the character of the sand, the climatic conditions, and the varying quantity and character of travel on the street to be paved; and Portland cement may be substituted partly or wholly for the pulverized stone, when directed by the Engineer. The surface-course mixture shall be submitted to the Engineer and approved by him before any is laid upon the street.

The mixing shall be accomplished in a mechanical mixing apparatus capable of rapidly and effectually incorporating the materials together, and each batch must remain in the mixer a sufficient length of time to effect a perfect mixture. The sand shall be separately heated and shall reach the mixing apparatus at a temperature not above three hundred and fifty (350) degrees F., nor below three hundred and twenty (320) degrees F. The pulverized stone shall be at such a temperature that when mixed with the sand the temperature of the mixed mass shall not be above three hundred and fifty (350) degrees F., nor below three hundred and twenty (320) degrees F. The sand shall be first placed in the mixer, followed by the pulverized stone, and these two materials shall be thoroughly mixed together before the asphaltic cement is added. The asphaltic cement at a temperature not above three hundred and fifty (350) degrees, nor below three hundred (300) degrees F. shall then be added in such a way as to evenly distribute it over the sand and pulverized stone, and the mixing continued until the materials are thoroughly incorporated into a perfectly uniform and homogeneous mass, with the grains of sand completely covered with cement. Suitable thermometers shall be constantly used to determine the temperatures specified herein. Great care must be taken to accurately weigh and proportion the materials charged into the mixer.[^[22]]

52. Stone for Base-course.—Stone screenings for base-course shall be of crushed, hard, durable stone. The portion used shall all be retained upon a No. 8 sieve, or screen, and shall all pass a screen having square meshes, the linear dimensions of the openings in which are one-half (½) inch less than the thickness of the base-course.

53. Composition of Base-course.—The base-course shall be composed of the crushed stone specified in Section 52, mixed with the asphaltic cement, sand and pulverized stone specified in Sections 50, 48 and 49, but the asphaltic cement shall be of such hardness as the engineer may direct.

A typical base-course mixture will be composed as follows:

But the mixture shall be such that when placed on the street and compressed by the roller the mass shall be dense and the voids in the stone completely filled; and to accomplish this the quantity of crushed stone used in the mixture may be increased or decreased, as the volume of its voids may require, in order that they may be completely filled.[^[23]]

54. Mixing the Base-course.—The materials for the base-course shall be heated and mixed in the same general manner as prescribed for the surface-course (Sect. 51), the crushed stone being delivered first in the mixer. The temperature of the mixture as it comes from the mixer being not above three hundred and twenty-five (325) degrees F., nor below three hundred (300) degrees F.

55. Laying Asphalt Pavement, General.—Asphalt pavement must not be laid except when the surface upon which it is to be placed is dry; nor when the temperature of the air is below thirty-two (32) degrees F., or, if a strong wind prevails, when the temperature of the air is below forty (40) degrees F.

The pavement mixture, whether for base- or surface-course, shall be taken to the street as soon after it leaves the mixer as practicable. When the temperature of the air is below seventy (70) degrees F., the loaded vehicles conveying the mixture to the street shall be covered by canvas covers to prevent the escape of heat. When unloaded upon the street, the temperature of the mass should not be below two hundred and eighty (280) degrees F., and any load or portions of a load found under two hundred and forty (240) degrees F. must be rejected. After being unloaded on the street, the mixture must be shoveled into place in such a manner that the whole of it will be moved from the pile into which it was unloaded.

56. Laying the Base-course.—The base-course will have an average thickness of one and one-quarter (1¼) inches after compression. It shall be laid directly upon the pavement foundation, which must be free from all loose fragments and rubbish and be swept clean in advance of the application of the base-course. The base-course mixture shall be spread upon the foundation and evenly and regularly graded to such a depth that after compression by the roller its surface will be ... inches below, and truly parallel to, the pavement datum.

Great care must be taken in handling, spreading and grading the mixture to maintain the uniform admixture of the crushed stone throughout the mass. The rakes used must have tines wide apart, and the back of the rake must be principally used for grading. Immediately after being graded, and while still hot, the base-course shall be rolled with an asphalt roller weighing not less than five tons, the rolling being continued until no further compression takes place.

The base-course must not be laid more than one day’s work in advance of the surface-course.

When the base-course is completed it must present a uniform appearance and texture over the whole surface, which must conform so truly to the designed grade and contour that a twelve-foot template, when applied, will show no departure from the true surface greater than one-quarter (¼) inch.

57. Laying the Surface-course.—In delivering the surface-course mixture upon the base-course, care must be taken not to break or disturb the latter. Any breaks made in the base-course must be so repaired, before the surface-course is spread, as to be equal in density and surface to the adjoining base.

Before the surface-course is spread the base-course must be thoroughly cleaned and all rubbish, loose material and street dirt removed.

The material for the surface-course shall be so evenly spread and graded with asphalt rakes that after it is properly compacted by rolling, the surface will coincide with the pavement datum within the limits named below. In grading the material, all lumps must be broken up and the whole reduced to a finely comminuted mass of equal density throughout. Directly after being so graded it shall be rolled with a hand-roller, or light steam-roller, to partly compress the material, and, when so directed by the Engineer, the surface shall then be ironed with smoothing irons heated to a temperature that will melt, but not burn, the asphaltic cement. A thin layer of hydraulic cement, just sufficient to prevent adhesion between the material and the roller, shall then be swept over the surface, which shall at once be thoroughly rolled with a ten-ton asphalt roller until the material shall be thoroughly compressed and its surface be brought to the exact grade and contour designed for the street surface. The work of the ten-ton steam-roller must begin before the material has cooled below two hundred (200) degrees F., and be continued until the roller makes no further impression upon the surface. The first course of the heavy rolling shall be parallel to the street beginning at the curb and working toward the center on each side, after which it should be diagonally rolled, and also cross-rolled if the width of the street permits.[^[24]] Any portions of the surface not accessible to the roller shall be tamped with hot tampers until compacted equally with the rolled portion. When completed, the surface shall have an average thickness of ... inches and must be so free from waves or irregularities that a template not less than twelve feet long, when applied to the street surface shall nowhere show a divergence from the designed true surface of more than three-sixteenths (³⁄₁₆) inch, and a template sixteen (16) feet long applied to the gutters shall show no divergence from the true gutter grade greater than one-eighth (⅛) inch.

Before the surface-course is placed, all exposed surfaces of curbs, crosswalks, manholes, etc., with which the surface-course will be in contact, must be well painted with hot paving cement or approved pitch. 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. The concrete must be thoroughly tamped under and against the rail.

The asphalt surface shall be laid directly against the rails, which, if their temperature be under fifty (50) degrees F., shall be heated by suitable appliances to a temperature of, or above, sixty (60) degrees F. immediately before the asphalt material is placed around the rail. The hot asphalt material must be thoroughly tamped against and along the rail and under any projecting portions of it, and the surface of the pavement must be even with, or slightly (not more than one-eighth (⅛) inch) above the top of the rail. Slot-rails will be treated in the same manner, subject to such modifications as their forms may necessitate.[^[25]]

59. Plant.—The plant for making asphalt paving mixtures must be of approved modern design, adapted to do the work properly, and equipped with efficient machinery. It shall be of sufficient capacity to turn out at least twelve hundred square yards of pavement surface daily without crowding. Weighing and measuring devices shall be accurate and adapted to the purpose, and must be frequently tested and adjusted. Each plant must be supplied with the apparatus necessary to make all determinations and tests required at the plant to properly conduct the work in accordance with these specifications. Steam-rollers must be properly balanced and the rolling surface must be true and smooth. All the street tools used must be of approved kind and quality and must be kept in good working order.

ASPHALT BLOCK PAVEMENT

60. Sub-grade.—The sub-grade for asphalt block pavement shall be prepared as specified in Sect. 26 of these specifications.

61. Foundation.—The foundation for asphalt block pavement shall be hydraulic concrete or broken stone.[^[26]]

Concrete foundation shall be constructed in accordance with Sections 28 to 37 inclusive of these specifications and shall have a thickness of ... inches.

Broken stone foundation shall be constructed in accordance with Section 40 of these specifications and shall have a thickness, when completed of ... inches.

62. Asphalt Blocks.—Asphalt blocks shall be not less than ten (10) inches nor more than twelve (12) inches long, not less than four (4) nor more than six (6) inches wide and not less than two (2) inches nor more than four (4) inches thick. Blocks for the same street must be of the same standard size throughout and individual blocks shall not vary in any dimension more than three-sixteenths (³⁄₁₆) inch from the standard size. Blocks that are chipped, cracked or are otherwise defective shall be rejected.

63. Material and Composition.—Asphalt paving blocks shall be composed of crushed trap rock[^[27]] or equally hard and durable rock, sand, pulverized stone and asphaltic cement.

The crushed rock shall be of such sizes that all will pass a screen having circular openings one-third (⅓) inch in diameter and that all will fail to pass a number ten (No. 10) sieve. The stone shall be freshly crushed, free from foreign substances and clean and bright.

The sand shall be clean and sharp and of such sizes that all will pass the number ten sieve and not more than five per cent. will pass the number two hundred sieve. The grain-size of the sand shall preferably be such that at least fifty per cent. (50%) of it will pass the number eighty sieve. The screenings from the crushed stone passing the number ten sieve may be used in place of sand, or thoroughly mixed with the sand to produce a mass of the above composition. The pulverized stone shall comply with Section 49 of these specifications. Portland cement shall be used in place of not more than ten per cent. of the whole if directed by the engineer, in which case the Portland cement will be paid for as extra work at the prevailing market price.

The asphaltic cement shall comply with the requirements of Sections 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 and 50 of these specifications.

64. Typical Composition.—A typical composition of the blocks, which must be complied with as nearly as practicable, is as follows; (by weight)

65. Manufacture.—The crushed rock, sand and pulverized stone shall be thoroughly mixed together at a temperature not above three hundred and seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit (375° F.) and not below three hundred and twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit (325° F.) and the asphaltic cement, at a like temperature, added and the mixing continued until a perfectly uniform mass is produced, with every fragment of stone completely coated with cement.

The hot mixture will then be compressed in molds under a pressure not less than four thousand (4000) pounds[^[28]] per square inch, after which the blocks will be removed from the molds and allowed to cool, either in the air or in water.

The completed blocks after cooling in air shall have a specific gravity of not less than 2.5. They shall not absorb, when immersed in water for twenty-four hours, more than one-half of one per cent. of water. When tested in the standard rattler for testing paving brick the average loss by abrasion shall not exceed twelve per cent. (12%) of their original weight, after 1800 revolutions of the rattler.

66. Laying the Blocks.[^[29]]—The foundation shall be first cleaned of dirt, rubbish or loose material.

When the blocks are four (4) inches or less in depth as laid, they shall be set upon a bed of mortar made and applied to the foundation in the following manner:

The mortar shall be composed of Portland cement and sand, in the ratio of one (1) part cement to three (3) parts of sand, thoroughly mixed with sufficient water to make a rather soft mortar. This mortar shall be spread over the foundation, which shall be previously wetted, in a layer approximately one-half (½) inch thick and its top graded by the use of templates to a surface at such depth below, and truly parallel to the pavement datum, that when the blocks are firmly set in it and rammed their tops will be in the true grade and contour of the pavement. The mortar shall be made and spread only as required in the progress of block laying, and any mortar that has begun to set before the blocks are in place and rammed, shall be removed and fresh mortar substituted. The blocks shall be set upon this mortar bed with their longest dimension across the street, in continuous courses which shall be straight and at right angles to the axis of the street. The block layers must stand upon the blocks already laid and not upon the mortar. The blocks and the courses of blocks shall be set as closely together as practicable. Blocks in adjoining courses must break joint not less than four inches. Whole blocks only will be used, except as fillers at the ends of the courses or in fitting the pavement around manholes or other structures, and where thus used the broken ends of the blocks must be dressed to make close joints. Unless otherwise permitted, each course must be laid continuously across the street without interruption in time. As each course is completed the end joints shall be forced close together by the use of wedges, levers or mauls. Upon the completion of every third course, the courses shall be forced together by placing a timber scantling against the face of the last course and striking it with a sledge or maul. When the blocks are thus laid, and before the mortar under them begins to set, they shall be well rammed to a solid bearing in the mortar with a wooden street rammer weighing not less than thirty (30) pounds, a two inch plank ten (10) inches wide and three (3) feet long being interposed between the block and the rammer and moved about so that the whole surface shall be covered and rammed. When the ramming is completed, the top of the blocks must conform so closely to the pavement datum that when a template or straight-edge is placed upon the pavement, its surface shall nowhere depart from the true surface more than three-sixteenths (³⁄₁₆) inch. Blocks, or portions of the pavement found too high or too low, must be taken up and reset in fresh mortar to the true grade. When thus completed to the satisfaction of the Engineer, a layer of one-half (½) inch of fine dry sand shall be placed over the surface and swept about with brooms until all joints are completely filled. The remaining sand shall be removed from the pavement at such time as the Engineer may direct.

When the depth of the blocks exceeds four (4) inches, they may be set upon a cushion course of sand, as prescribed for brick pavement, Section 86, the joints to be filled with sand, as specified above in this Section.

67. Railroad Tracks.—Where railroad tracks exist on the street to be paved, the construction shall be the same as prescribed for granite block pavement, Section 78.

68. The street shall not be opened to travel until the mortar under the blocks shall have become fully set, and in no case under five days after the blocks are laid.

GRANITE BLOCK PAVEMENT

69. Granite block pavement shall be laid upon a foundation of hydraulic cement concrete.[^[30]]

70. Sub-grade and Foundation.—The sub-grade shall be prepared as specified in Section 26. The foundation shall be constructed in accordance with the requirements of Sections 28 to 38 inclusive.

71. Granite Blocks.—The blocks shall be made from sound, durable granite, of uniform texture, composition and hardness throughout. No outcrop, deteriorated, soft, brittle, or seamy stone shall be used. If the blocks are obtained from different quarries, or from different parts of the same quarry where the quality or appearance of the rock differs, the product of each must be kept separate and laid together on the street.[^[31]]

The blocks shall be not less than eight (8) nor more than twelve (12) inches long, not less than three and one-half (3½) nor more than four and one-half (4½) inches wide, and not less than four and three-quarters (4¾) nor more than five and one-quarter (5¼) inches deep.[^[32]] They shall be well-shaped, rectangular, with full edges and corners. Their tops shall not depart more than one-fourth (¼) inch from a true plane, and their sides shall be dressed so that joints between the courses will nowhere exceed three-fourths (¾) inch wide, and their ends so that end joints shall not exceed one-half (½) inch wide.[^[33]] The size of the blocks may be varied where necessary to fit the pavement against or around bridge stones or other street structures.

72. Sand Cushion.—The foundation shall be cleaned of all dirt and rubbish. There shall then be spread evenly over it a layer of clean, coarse sand to a uniform depth of one and one-half (1½) inches.

73. Setting the Blocks.—The blocks shall be set in this bed of sand perpendicular to the street surface, with their length at right angles to the street, in courses extending entirely across the street, and at right angles to its axis, except at street intersections where the courses shall be arranged as the Engineer may direct.[^[34]] Only stones of the same width shall be set in the same course. The stones in each course, and in adjoining courses, shall be set firmly against each other. The blocks shall be set in the sand bed in such a manner that their bottom surface shall rest evenly upon the sand and that their tops shall be even with each other and to such an elevation that after the pavement is rammed, as hereinafter directed, its general surface shall conform closely to the pavement datum. Stones in adjoining courses shall break joint not less than three (3) inches.

74. Ramming.[^[35]]—After the blocks are set each individual block shall be thoroughly rammed to give it a firm bearing in the sand and to bring its top to the prescribed pavement datum. The rammers used shall have wooden faces not more than four inches in diameter, and shall weigh not less than thirty (30) pounds. Blocks or sections of blocks whose tops under the ramming remain above or sink below the pavement datum shall be taken up and reset so that after the ramming is completed their tops shall coincide with the pavement datum.

75. Filling the Joints.[^[36]]—After the ramming specified in Sect. 74 shall have been completed, the joints between the paving blocks shall be filled in the following manner:

All the joints for a distance of three feet out from the curbstones, and three contiguous joints continuous across the street, with the included end joints, at intervals of about fifty (50) feet in the length of the street, shall be filled with gravel and bituminous paving cement. The gravel used shall be of such size that all will pass through a screen having five-eighths (⅝) inch meshes, and all will be held on a screen having one-fourth (¼) inch meshes. When used, the gravel must be free from refuse and street dirt. The bituminous paving cement shall be composed by weight of straight-run coal-tar pitch of the hardness commonly known as number six, to which has been added and thoroughly mixed, while both are in a melted condition, twenty per cent. (20%) by weight of refined Trinidad asphalt, or other asphalt, equal for the purpose, and twenty per cent. (20%) by weight of Portland cement. These ingredients must be thoroughly mixed, and kept agitated until used.[^[37]]

The joints will first be filled with the gravel, which shall be perfectly dry, and heated so that when put in the joints it will be at a temperature of about three hundred (300) degrees F. The paving cement, heated to a temperature of about three hundred (300) degrees F., shall be at once, while the gravel is still hot, poured from a spouted vessel into the joints until the interstices of the gravel are entirely filled to the surface of the pavement, repouring being resorted to to accomplish this result whenever necessary.

All the joints in the pavement other than those named above shall then be completely filled with Portland cement grout, in the following manner:

The grout shall be composed of equal parts by volume of sand (Sect. 30) and Portland cement (Sect. 29), a quick-setting cement being preferred. The sand and cement shall be first thoroughly mixed dry and then enough water added to make a grout of such consistency that it will flow like thick cream, and the mixing continued until a homogeneous mass is produced and until the grout is applied to the pavement. The grout shall be prepared in water-tight boxes of a convenient size. Before applying the grout the pavement shall be thoroughly dampened by sprinkling. The grout shall be removed from the mixing box and spread over the pavement with scoop shovels, in two courses, the first being sufficient to about half fill the joints, and the second, which shall be applied before the first has begun to set, shall be sufficient to entirely fill the remaining space in the joints. As the grout is applied to the pavement it shall be swept about with brooms until it all enters the joints.

76. Order of Work.—The sand bed shall not be put in place more than fifty (50) feet ahead of the block setters. The ramming and filling of the joints shall follow closely the block setting, but no ramming shall be done within less than six (6) feet of the face of the block setting; and the final joint filling shall be kept completed to within twenty-five (25) feet of the ramming; except that all the work rammed during any day shall have the joint filling completed before the cessation of work on that day. The street shall not be opened to travel until the grout has thoroughly set.

77. Fitting Paving Around Other Structures.—The size of blocks and the width of courses shall, as the block laying approaches bridge stones, curbs and other structures, or in making closures with other sections of pavement, be so selected and adjusted that joints not over three-quarters (¾) inch in width shall result, without breaking blocks or splitting courses.

78. Street Railroad Tracks.—Where railroad tracks exist in the street the paving blocks shall be laid against the rail in the following manner:

The sub-grade and the pavement foundation shall extend under the rails uninterrupted except by the ties or other structures connected with the railroad track. For a distance of sixteen (16) inches, on each side of the rail, measuring from the center thereof, there shall be spread on the pavement foundation a layer of mortar not less than one and one-half (1½) inches thick, composed of one (1) part of cement and three (3) parts sand, complying with the requirements of Sections 29 and 30. Upon this layer of mortar shall be set, against the rail, and on each side of it, selected paving blocks, securely bedded in the mortar before it shall have begun to set.[^[38]] Alternate blocks shall be long and short so as to break joint with the blocks of the adjoining pavement. Selected blocks with well dressed top surfaces shall be used and their tops shall be set as nearly as practicable at the level of the top of the rail, but not so high that the car wheels will ride upon them. In setting the blocks they shall be firmly bedded into the mortar by the use of paving hammers, but they shall not be thereafter rammed. As the blocks are set, any space between the paving blocks and the web of the rail shall be filled with mortar of the quality described above. The placing of these blocks shall not precede by more than ten (10) feet the block laying on the street. Care must be taken not to disturb the bedding of these blocks in the laying of the adjoining pavement, or otherwise. The joints shall be filled with grout as specified in Sect. 75.

The construction along slot-rails shall be the same as described above, except that blocks of special size or shape may be required, as the Engineer may direct.

79. Bridge Stone Crossings.—Where directed by the Engineer, the old bridge stone shall be redressed and relaid, as hereinafter specified for new bridge stone, and shall be moved from the point where taken up to the point where they are to be relaid, by the Contractor at his expense.

New bridge stone shall be of the same quality of granite as the paving blocks and free from imperfections. They shall not be less than three and one-half (3½) nor more than six (6) feet long, eighteen (18) inches wide and of a uniform thickness not less than six (6) nor more than eight (8) inches, but these dimensions may be varied by the Engineer where necessary to fit the stone into special locations.

Their top shall be well dressed to a true plane surface not varying in evenness more than one-quarter (¼) inch. The sides shall be dressed perpendicular to the face so as to joint closely against the paving blocks. The ends shall be cut to lines making an angle of from 60° to 45° with the longitudinal axis of the stones[^[39]] and so dressed and to such a bevel that when set in the curved surface of the street, the joint between adjoining stones shall not be wider than three-eighths (⅜) inch from top to bottom.

Bridge stones shall be set in advance of the block laying, over the concrete street foundation, in a bed of sand or gravel in which they shall be firmly bedded. Their upper surface shall conform truly to the pavement datum. They shall be set accurately to the lines given by the Engineer. Where the crosswalk requires more than one width of bridge stone, the courses shall be laid parallel to, and at such distance from each other as the Engineer may direct, and the space between courses shall be filled with paving blocks laid as specified for other parts of the street.

BRICK PAVEMENT[^[40]]

80. Sub-grade.—The sub-grade for brick pavement shall be prepared in accordance with Sect. 26, and shall be finished to a surface ... inches below and parallel to the pavement datum.

81. Foundation.—The foundation for brick pavement shall be of hydraulic concrete[^[41]] prepared in accordance with Sections 28 to 37 inclusive. Its thickness shall be ... inches and its upper surface shall, when completed, be parallel to and at a depth below the pavement datum equal to the depth of the brick plus one and one-fourth (1¼) inches. The surface of the foundation shall not vary more than one-half (½) inch above or below that depth.

82. Paving Brick.—The linear dimensions of paving brick may vary between the following limits: In length, from eight and one-half (8½) to nine and one-half (9½) inches; in width, from two and one-fourth (2¼) to three and one-half (3½) inches; in depth, from four (4) to four and one-eighth (4⅛) inches; but the length shall not be less than two and one-half (2½) nor more than three and three-fourths (3¾) times the width.[^[42]] The corners shall all be rounded off to a radius of not less than one-eighth (⅛) nor more than three-sixteenths (³⁄₁₆) inch. The brick for any one contract shall be all of the same kind and of the same standard size, and the individual bricks shall not vary in length more than three-sixteenths (³⁄₁₆) inch, nor in width more than one-eighth (⅛) inch from the size adopted as standard. Raised lugs or letters are permissible on one side of each brick but must not project more than three-sixteenths (³⁄₁₆) inch from the general surface.[^[43]]

The brick must be specially manufactured for paving purposes. They may be made from shale or from suitable clay. In either case the material must be thoroughly pulverized, mixed and tempered, and must be free from lime nodules or other substances that may disintegrate the brick when immersed in water. The brick shall be molded in efficient brick machines to a truly rectangular form, free from cracks, flaws and injurious laminations. After being dried the brick shall be properly and uniformly burned in down-draft kilns. Shale brick shall be burned to the point of incipient fusion or vitrification. After the burning is completed, the brick shall be allowed to cool with sufficient slowness to insure thorough annealing.

The completed brick shall be free from flaws, cracks, ragged corners, and from such distortion or warping as will interfere with their utility or good appearance in the pavement. Paving brick shall not be salt-glazed.

83. The brick shall be subjected to the following tests to determine their quality:

When broken by the blows of a hammer the brick shall be strong and tough. The broken surface shall show a homogeneous composition throughout the broken section, free from flaws, injurious laminations, nodules and voids, and shall appear to be uniformly burned from surface to center.

When subjected to the standard “Rattler” test, in accordance with the rules adopted by the National Paving Brick Manufacturers’ Association, the average loss in weight shall not exceed eighteen (18) per cent.[^[44]] and the loss in weight of any individual brick in the test shall not be more than twenty-five (25) per cent. greater than the average loss of the whole charge.

When subjected to the absorption test, in accordance with the rules adopted by the National Paving Brick Manufacturers’ Association, shale bricks shall not absorb more than two (2) per cent. nor less than one-half (½) of one per cent. of their weight of water,[^[45]] and clay bricks shall not absorb more than six (6) per cent. of their weight of water; the absorption of any individual brick shall not be more than fifty (50) per cent. greater than the mean absorption of the whole lot tested.[^[46]] Brick that do not successfully pass all these tests will not be accepted.

84. Samples.—Where samples of paving brick have been required and submitted by successful bidders, and tested as described above, it will be assumed that these samples fairly represent the quality of the brick to be subsequently supplied for the work, and brick that do not come up to the standard thus established will not be accepted.

85. Delivering Brick on Street.—Unless the sidewalks are too narrow to permit of it, the brick shall all be delivered upon the street before the foundation is constructed, and neatly piled upon the outer edge of the sidewalks; occasional openings being left in the piles for the accommodation of foot passengers. One-half the brick required shall be thus delivered and piled upon each sidewalk. In delivering the bricks from these piles to the bricklayers, they must be carried on pallets, or other suitable devices must be used to prevent mutilation by rough handling; they must not be dumped from wheelbarrows upon freshly-laid brick pavement.

If for any reason the bricks are not delivered before the foundation is laid, or if the sidewalks are too narrow to permit of the brick being stored upon them, they may be delivered over the foundation, but not until the concrete has set so hard that it will not be injured by transportation over it.

86. Sand Cushion.—Directly before the brick are laid into the pavement there shall be spread over the foundation a layer of sand one and one-half (1½) inches in depth. The sand shall be free from vegetable or other refuse matter, and shall not contain more than five (5) per cent. of clay and loam. Pebbles and fragments of stone exceeding one-fourth inch in diameter must be screened out. When spread on the street the sand shall be sufficiently dry to permit of proper gaging by templates, as hereinafter described. The sand shall be spread and correctly gaged to the proper thickness and surface by the use of templates formed to the true designed cross-sectional contour of the pavement. If the width of the street between curbs does not exceed twenty-five (25) feet, the template shall be made in one length sufficient to cover the full width of the street, and its ends shall be so constructed and fitted with iron rollers, that it will rest upon and roll along the top of the curb at each end; if the width of the street between curbs be not more than fifty (50) feet, the template shall be of sufficient length to reach from the curb to the middle of the street, and constructed to move on rollers on top of the curb at one end and upon a plank six (6) inches wide and one and one-half (1½) inches thick laid upon the foundation along the center line of the pavement. The template shall be worked forward and backward along the line of the street until the surface of the sand conforms exactly to the designed contour of the pavement, at a depth below the pavement datum equal to the depth of the paving brick minus one-fourth (¼) inch. The whole surface shall then be rolled with a garden roller not less than thirty-six inches long and not less than thirty inches in diameter, weighing not less than three hundred pounds. When completed the surface of the sand cushion shall be smooth and unbroken, and care must be taken not to disturb it before the bricks are set upon it.