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Show WORLD JpWES DEBT TO THESE! Macadam, Pioneer of Good Roads, and His Contemporary, Telford, Worthy of All Gratitude. The first great Improvement in high way construction within modern times was effected by John Loudon Macadam; or McAdam, who was born in Ayr; Scotland, in 1756. This great Scotch; engineer was the Inventor of the roadj making system known as "macadamize ing," which is still In general UBe, although al-though vastly improved. Macadanv died in 1836, at the age of eighty. When he was born the turnpike road of England and Scotland were in an incredibly bad state. Macadam ana his contemporary, Telford, were tho first to check the prevailing chaos and to bring scientiflo methods and regu. lar system to bear upon the building, repair and maintenance of highways. Macadam was engaged chiefly in the repair of existing roads rather than the construction of new ones, and the Improvements which he Inaugurated were of great and lasting benefit, not only to his native land, but to the world at large. Telford insisted upon a foundation of broken stone in road building, while Macadam insisted that this was unnecessary and that the subsoil sub-soil would carry any weight if adequately ade-quately drained and kept dry by an impervious covering. . |