Excerpt from The Construction of Roads and Pavements "The Construction of Roads and Pavements" was written to meet the need for a concise presentation of approved practice in the construction of roads and pavements and of the principles involved. The book is intended primarily for use as a text in a two or three-hour course in roads and pavements, but numerous tables and typical designs and specifications have been included that should add to its value as a reference book for highway engineers. The ultimate object of all highway engineering is the construction of durable and well-designed roadway surfaces. The attainment of this object involves selecting and testing the materials, assembling those that are suitable, and incorporating them in the roadway surface. A knowledge of the construction of roads and pavements is therefore the basis of highway engineering. Much of the material used in the text has been prepared from notes that have been accumulating for several years. Diming that time the author has attended numerous conventions of highway engineers and has often discussed the various problems of roadway construction with engineers with whom he has been associated. Doubtless many of the ideas expressed in the text have thus unconsciously been absorbed. A considerable amount of material has been obtained from current periodical literature and acknowledgment has been given for material abstracted from the writing of other engineers. The author is especially indebted to Mr. T. H. MacDonald, Chief Engineer of the Iowa Highway Commission, for his assistance and encouragement; to Mr. J. W. Eichinger, Editor of the Iowa Service Bulletin, for valuable suggestions and especially for furnishing photographs for cuts; to the Illinois Highway Department for much valuable data, and to a score or more other highway engineers who have furnished plans, specifications, photographs or data on construction. Special acknowledgment is made of the very valuable assistance of Mr. C. S. Nichols, assistant to Dean of Engineering, Iowa State College, who has assisted in the preparation and arrangement of the manuscript. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.