Episode 17 - The First Concrete Mile

When I was a child, we had city streets that were paved but once you left the city you probably found more dirt roads than paved roads.  I also remember as a young boy that a lot of dirt roads would be coated with an oil substance to hold down the dust in the summer.  I remember how we enjoyed walking on the newly coated road and making oily footprints.  Our parents weren’t too happy about it.  Now, although we continue to find dirt roads, even rural roads are usually paved.  

In this episode I want to look at the story behind the story of how using concrete for paving began.  I hope you’ll join me on this “road trip”.

References:

International Society for Concrete Pavements (https://www.concretepavements.org)

Historical Marker Database (https://www.hmdb.org)

I invite you to share this podcast with others. If you have interesting stories about historical markers you've discovered, or perhaps are in your area, please email me at: americanhistoricalmarkers@gmail.com.

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Safe Travels!

Transcript

Hello Friends, I’m your host Dave Laton and welcome to Signs of Our Time, Discovering America’s heritage, one sign at a time.

This podcast is designed to provide the story behind the story found on America’s roadside historical signs and markers.  

Some historical markers are fascinating.  Others, not so much.  It truly depends on the interests of the person reading the marker.  Information about roads themselves may not be high on the list of interesting topics.  

In fact, on the list of many things that we take for granted are paved roads and highways.  It’s easy to not think about the road unless we hit a bump, pothole, or get delayed because of road construction or maintenance.  My wife and I travel often and use interstates and other highways to get to our destination.  Unfortunately, there have been times when rough roads have even damaged our tires.  And all of us have experienced delays and detours due to road construction.

Having a national system of highways hasn’t always been part of our nation.  Some of us remember when a well paved and wide-open interstate system was new.

In this episode I want to look at the story behind the story of the first mile of concrete paved road. I’m specifying a mile of concrete paved road because paving roads, even with concrete was not something new.  Several locations had short stretches of streets paved with concrete, but nothing specifically aimed at paving for distances.

Although there is a historical marker for New Jersey’s first concrete highway built in 1912, the first public road in the United States paved with concrete was in Detroit, Michigan in 1909.  It was on Woodward Avenue between Six Mile Road and Seven Mile Road.  The significance of it is that it demonstrated the practicality and cost-effectiveness of concrete for road construction.  I think it very fitting that Detroit tested this process since the city is famous for the early years of the automotive industry in America.  

The cost of the experiment was $13,537, including $1,000 in state aid.  The experiment was so successful that 60 more miles of concrete paved roads were completed over the next two years.  It wasn’t long before other states began paving their own roads with concrete.  Eventually it led to the National Highway System we have today.

Before this, most roads throughout America were not paved.  Most were dirt or gravel.  If any roads were paved, it was generally in cities.  But as the use of automobiles grew, so too did the demand for better roads.

Early road construction used a variety of materials such as gravel, bricks, cobble stone, and an early form of asphalt called Macadam (mukadm).  And if you search out other materials used for road construction, you’ll even find where logs were used.

Logs would be laid perpendicular to each other forming a surface over mud, swampy areas, or low-lying areas.  These roads were referred to as corduroy roads.  This technique wasn’t used for long distances, but it was useful for short spans.  There were all sorts of challenges as you might imagine.  It was not a smooth surface, and logs were prone to shifting making it unsafe for horses and unstable for the vehicle being pulled.  Interestingly, this technique was used as late as World War I and again in World War II during the construction of the Great Alaskan Highway.

Paved roads go as far back as 4,000 BC in ancient Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq. They used mud bricks dried and set with bitumen (bi·chuh·muhn), a natural asphalt-like substance.  

We also know the Romans were experts in paving roads.  The Romans started with a foundation of compacted earth followed by layers of crushed rock and gravel held together with lime mortar. The surface layer was paved with durable materials like stone blocks or volcanic lava.  These roads allowed Roman soldiers to quickly travel throughout the empire.  They were also used by travelers and tradesmen to expand commerce.  It sounds a lot like our use of our modern interstate system today.  There are some Roman roads still in existence today.  When I was in the Air Force stationed in Turkey we traveled over a Roman bridge to get into a market area in the city.

Today in America it is estimated that there are 4.17 million miles of paved roads.  Of these, the National Highway System makes up about 47,432 miles.  The rest are city and rural roads scattered all throughout America.  

The idea of an interstate system linking all of America is not a new idea.  It was begun several times but materials and manpower were set aside because of the needs of war.  The system we have today began in 1956 and was officially declared complete in 1992.  

Our interstate system is also known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, or the Eisenhower Interstate System.  It was seen as a way to increase commerce and travel across the US.   It also is a way to transport resources in the event of national emergencies and disasters.

Although our highways are all part of the National Highway System, each state is responsible to provide for most of the construction and maintenance.  The states receive federal assistance, but the ongoing responsibility is theirs.  Also, while laws about highway design and construction are generally consistent, there are variations due to unique situations in various states.  

But through all the growth and development of our highways and roads, concrete remains the primary component of highway construction.  Even when we see a road paved with asphalt is likely a combination of asphalt and concrete.  It all goes back to one mile in Detroit, Michigan in 1909.

Well friends, there you have it.  A story behind the story from America’s historical signs and markers.  I hope you enjoyed this episode.  I invite you to subscribe and continue listening as we bring more episodes about the rich heritage of our great nation.

Please share this podcast with others.  If you have interesting stories about historical signs and markers, email me at: americanhistoricalmarkers@gmail.com.  Maybe your story behind the story will be featured.

I’m your host Dave Laton and thank you for listening, and safe travels!