Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 217, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 September 1911 — BRICK ALLEY WENT WEDNESDAY NIGHT. [ARTICLE]

BRICK ALLEY WENT WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

Partially Constructed Brick Pavement Found Support Poor and Rain Ruined Foundation. A partially completed brick pavement in the alley of block No. 4, extending from Worland’s furniture store to King’s blacksmith shop, is so badly disfigured today that it will have to be taken and the bricks relaid and if it is to be permanent, a better foundation for the brick will have to be used. Brick pavements built on sand do not seem to be very different from houses built on sand, and the partially completed alley is a picture of desolation. Coarse crushed stone formed the base for the pavement and On top of this the sand was dumped and the brick was laid in the sand. Through the crevices between the brick the water went to the sand and carried it through the rock and the brick toppled, some one way and some another. The alley in block three was built in the same manner and after the brick were laid the crevices were filled with sand and cement, making a filler that sheds most of the water. It is feared, however, that enough water through in time to cause the sand to work through the coarse rock and then make the brick settle unevenly. Had screenings been used on top of the coarse rock and thoroughly rolled in before the sand was put on, the difficulty might have been overcome.