The Technical Development of Roads in BritainThe history of roads in Great Britain has not been one of steady development, but rather, one that has waxed and waned in response to social, military and economic needs, and also as to whether there have been alternative methods of transport available. Paralleling this, the technical aspects of road construction - with the one great exception of Roman roads - can be seen as a fitful progression of improvement followed by neglect as the roadmaker has responded, albeit tardily on occasion, to the needs of the road user. This text describes the technical development of British roads in relation to the needs of the time, and thereby touches upon its relation to the history of the country more generally. |
Contents
Prehistoric Trackways | 18 |
The Years of Neglect | 35 |
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Roads 52 22 | 52 |
Copyright | |
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agger aggregate asphalt bitumen macadam bituminous bituminous surfacing Britain broken stone built California bearing ratio camber capping layer carriageway carried cement cent chapter civil engineering clay coach Coated macadam compacted concrete pavement concrete road pavement Cross-section of pavement crushed rock ditches drain drainage earthworks embankment England existing roads frost damage frost heave ft wide granular heavy lorries highlands highway engineer hoggin Holyhead laid limestone load M25 motorway macadam mean yearly frost medieval miles military roads motor car Oxford Clay pavement design pavement structure pervious macadam prehistoric trackways railways refinery bitumen road construction road engineer road structure road surface roadbase roadmaking roadstone rolled asphalt Roman roads sand Scotland shown in Figure side slope skidding resistance statute labour sub-base subgrade surveyor Sweet Track tarmacadam Telford thickness traffic Transport Tresaguet trunk roads turnpike roads turnpike trusts tyres vehicle excise duty vehicles per day wearing course wheels yearly frost index