Show a aY ax It F Z x Y v a. a nl ry MONSTER TANK CARRIER TRIES TEST ROAD This ROAD This pound Arm Army tank retriever er wu was as one of the heavy vehicles used on the Maryland Test Road by highway engineers in an experiment which proved that pavement built on gra el will ill carr carry weights far greater than the heaviest commercial trucks permitted anywhere L Motorists today drive smoothly at 50 mph over the site of the road test dc despite pite earlier unofficial re reports reports re re- ports the road was ruined by the specially heavy test trucks which w were re shuttled back and forth 24 hours a day for six months The Highway R Research search Boards Board's official findings just released in Washington D. D C. C describe how the engineers withheld normal road maintenance so that washouts of clay beneath the pavement would permit cracking they could m measure asure against various weights The report shows that the 28 concrete slabs on good soil didn't crack and the tank retriever was run over this part of the highway to confirm that a properly built road can support heavy loads The inadequate Choptank clay under 86 85 percent of th the teat test road it was said exists nowhere except in a few parts of Maryland and Delaware but the engineers' engineers findings findings find find- ings indicate that pavements built anywhere on poor soils without adding gravel require re faithful maintenance if ra rain n and weathering are not to weaken them so they j cannot bear even ordinary traffic The Maryland Test Road Ron was re reopened reopened re re- opened to public use after the state highway department nt spent on it mostly to fix shoulders and drainage found faulty before the test Highway designers and builders are hopeful that the Maryland test and others in prospect will point the way to better highway construction construction con can and care They have learned that a good foundation isa is isa a good start for tor any road o j I |