or density. The average speed of motor vehicles on the boulevards is greater than in New York streets, and this fact and the extent of traffic of vehicles of all classes in some measure accounts for the poorer condition in many of the streets as compared with some of the German cities having very little other than pedestrian travel on their street surfaces. Before the advent of the motor vehicle, Paris held leading rank as a city of fine pavements. The authorities now recognize the fact that large sums must be spent and large amounts of work done to supersede the former street surfaces with the only types suitable under modern conditions.

BORDEAUX

This city, the capital of the department of the Gironde, is situated on a plain on the left bank of the river Garonne, 58 miles from its mouth.

It is the fourth port of France in value of commerce and a large manufacturing city, particularly for wines, spirits, chemicals, as well as woolen carpets, paper, etc. It has canal communication with the Mediterranean and important rail connections to the entire country.

In the old portion of the city there are many famous old buildings, and the newer portions are regularly laid out with wide streets. It has a population of over 260,000.

The annual costs of repaving are as follows, small areas of work being done by city forces and larger areas by contract:

$15,440.00
11,580.00

Laborers.

Contract.

Total....

Reconstruction by contract-
Principal streets..
City streets..

The state pays half this cost; the city, the remainder.

All new construction is done by contract. Materials for paving are usually tested by actual use, though occasionally submitted to laboratory test. No definite periods are assigned for the life of different classes of pavement, but on account of the street traffic in general not being great, they last for a considerable period. Subsurface street openings include excavation of trenches for gas, water, electricity, sewers and telephones-usually a narrow trench extending only half the width of the street; occasionally long trenches are excavated for placing or replacing pipes. About 2000 such openings are made annually, having an extent of from 24,000 to 36,000 square yards. With the exception of a few streets, all subsurface structures are placed beneath the roadway. The tramway company is required to maintain the pavement within its tracks and for a distance of 20

inches outside the rails on either side, doing this work with its own organization. The maintenance of pavement adjacent to the rails in good condition requires extensive inspection.

The street service is under the direction of a chief engineer, a principal assistant and 3 assistant engineers, having under their direction inspectors for all works carried on by contract, as well as foremen and cantonniers for department work. Street cleaning is carried on under another branch of the service, as is the case with lighting. Necessary excavations are made by the different branches of the service to which they belong. All replacing of the pavement in such cases is under the direction of the service of Public Ways.

In the construction of new buildings, contractors are usually permitted to occupy only the sidewalk, and any repairs due to damage caused by their construction are made at their expense.

Data and information in regard to Bordeaux have been entirely obtained by correspondence, as it was too far distant from any of the other cities visited to allow of its being included in the time available.

NANTES

This city, which has a population of 170,000, is the principal town of the Departement of Loire-Inferieure, on the Loire River, near its mouth, in the western part of France. It is a commercial port of considerable importance, having a large shipping trade and a number of manufactures.

It has a total length of paved streets of 84 miles and employs only two types of surfacing on its highways; these are ordinary stone block on sand foundation and some form of broken stone and macadam surfacing. The extent of the two types of surfacing is as follows:

These amounts apply to only such works as are carried on under the ordinary budget appropriations for maintenance and are merely approximate. Unit costs for stone pavement vary from $2.33% to $2.52 per square yard in accordance with the type. The cost of repair work varies from $0.28% to $0.67 per square yard. Repairs to macadam roadway are not carried on at a square meter rate. Their cost varies with the thickness of the repair undertaken. Work which includes re-rolling new material to a depth of from 3 to 31⁄2 inches with no other binder than earth or screenings is carried on at an average price of $0.33% per square yard. All new paving operations are done by contract. The macadamizing is carried out by department labor, materials being furnished and rolling done by contract.

The specifications for municipal works, both as regards the quality of material and method of execution, are of the standard type adopted by the Administration des Ponts et Chaussees. The department employs no tests for material purchased. The estimated life of the pavements varies greatly with the intensity of traffic. As regards stone block highways, no definite period can be assigned for their duration, as their reconstruction, even when necessary, is liable to be much de