Note 19 — Chapter III · CHICAGO THE METROPOLIS OF THE MIDDLE WEST: REASONS FOR EXPECTING CONTINUOUS GROWTH: THE SUBURBS: A LAKESIDE DRIVEWAY ALONG LAKE MICHIGAN: CONNECTIONS BETWEEN OUTLYING CITIES: THE BUILDING OF GOOD ROADS
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No roads constructed with smooth surfaces have stood up under heavy automobile travel, except those made of asphaltum and those made like the Sheridan Road in Buena Park. The last-mentioned road has gone through two seasons of very hard usage, and although little repairing has been done, it seems unchanged as to its surface. In one section of England considerable stretches of the same sort of construction have been in service for some time, and with the same result as at Buena Park. In France two years ago, the main road from Versailles to Chartres was in first-class condition; going over the same road in June, 1907, it was found to be almost impassible, the wear upon it having come from automobiles; and yet this highway was constructed with care, on the best old-fashioned macadam formula. Asphaltum roads can be made that will not chip up or pockmark, but the surfacing must be done so that it will incorporate with the mass beneath, and not rolled on as an outer layer. A very moderate speed limit for automobiles will keep roads in good repair, for it is the high speed of the machines that is so destructive to roadbeds.