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Mediterranean Sea – Средиземное море

Mayan – майя

Aztec – ацтеки

Incan – инки

Appia – город Апиа

Tresaguet – Трезeге (фамилия)

turnpike road – главная магистраль

Cumberland – Камберленд

ft -foot – фут                  

in- inch – дюйм

 

EARLY ROADS

Traces of early roads have been found which antedate recorded history. The first hard surfaces appeared in Mesopotamia soon after discovery of the wheel about 3500 B.C. On the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea a stone-surfaced road constructed before 1500 B.C. was found. The direction in the Bible “make straight in the desert a high road“ refers to a road constructed soon after 539 B.C. between Babylon and Egypt. In the western Hemisphere evidence exists of extensive road systems constructed by the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan people of Central and South America. The Romans bound their empire together with an extensive system of roads radiating in many directions from Rome. The Appian Way, constructed southward about 312 B.C. illustrates the elaborate procedures that the Romans employed. First a trench was excavated to such a depth that the finished surface would be at ground level. The pavement was placed in three courses: a layer of small broken stones; a layer of small stones mixed with mortar and firmly tamped into place, and a wearing course of massive stone blocks, set and bedded in mortar. Many such roads are still in existence after almost 2000 years.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, road building became a lost art. It was not until the 18^th century that Tresaguet (1716-1796) in France developed improved construction methods that at a later time, under Napoleon, made possible a great system of French roads. Highway development in England followed soon after that in France. Mac. Adam (1756 - 1836) in particular made use of crushed stone as a road-surfacing material in a manner that is still widely used with some modifications. Both in France and in England the problem was chiefly to produce a road surface usable under all conditions of weather.

Few roads were constructed during the history of the United States. Most early settlements were located along bays or rivers, and transportation was largely by water, on foot or horseback. Roads development was extremely slow for a time after the Revolutionary War’s end in 1783. Poor roads were the real cause of the Whisky Rebellion in western Pennsylvania in 1794 (the farmers of this area objected to a tax on the whisky that they were making from grain). Construction of the Philadelphia-Candcaster Turnpike resulted from this incident. It was a toll road 62 miles long, surfaced to a width of 24ft with hand-broken stone and gravel.

Between 1795 and 1830 numerous other turnpikes, particularly in the northeastern states, were built. For example, the “Old National Pike” or “Cumberland road” from Cumberland to wheeling was financed by the Federal government and was originally toll-free. It was authorized by Congress in 1806, and was completed 10 years later. It was 20ft in width, and consisted of a 12-in. bottom and a 6-in. top course of hand-broken stone. Some 20 more years elapsed before the road was completed to St. Louis.

The extension of turnpikes in the United States was abruptly halted by the development of the railroads. At the end of the century, approximately 300 years after the first settlement, the United States could claim little distinction because of the character of its roads and turned to the countries of Europe for information of seeking knowledge on road-building methods. There were strong demands for rural road improvement although great improvements were made in city streets. After that the state highways continued to expand more than 2 decades.

Organization which coordinates the work concerning highways is called American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO). It was established in 1914. Among other duties it prepares specifications, manuals, standards and publishes a quarterly magazine “American Highways”, which reports on current highway subjects.

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