Paved Streets Reveal History

RENOVATION PROJECT TO HARVEST BRICKS

By John Gore

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

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ROGERS — Barricades, traffic barrels and cones appeared at two Second Street intersections Monday as Midland Construction began a $1.2 million intersection and beautif ication project. Detours are marked.

The intersections at Second and Elm streets and Second and Cherry streets are scheduled as the first to be redesigned.

The contract calls for the brick to be removed from intersections on First and Second streets between Walnut and Cherry streets. The harvested brick will be used to repair the remaining brick on First and Second streets.

The intersections will be resurfaced with patterned concrete. Trees, flower boxesand wheelchair-accessible ramps will be added at each intersection.

Harvesting the 9-pound bricks buried under the asphalt is an important part of the project. The bricks are 3 inches thick and 8 1 /2 inches by 4 inches in size.

The bricks have been part ofthe cityscape since 1924 when the dirt streets were paved for the fi rst time.

The dirt streets were a constant concern for downtown merchants, according to Rogers Democrat newspaper accounts at the time.

When it rained, the streets became a giant mud hole where cars and wagons often had to be extracted. When the streets were dry, cars zipped around at speeds of 15 mph or more, creating dust clouds that settled in businesses and shops.

Merchants and city leaders first had the idea of paving the streets in 1909 but couldn’t agree on how the project would be done and how they would pay for it.

A paving committee was finally approved by the city council in February 1924.After several discussions it was decided bricks would be used on First and Second Streets between Walnut and Cherry streets and concrete would be poured on Walnut and Poplar streets to Fourth Street. Kaw Paving Co. from Topeka, Kan., won the $100,000 paving contract, according to newspaper accounts.

The council acquired a 10-year $100,000 bond to pay for the project. The hope was, according to newspaper accounts, that the brick streets would last long enough to retire the bonds. The 1924 council got a few bonus years out of the project. The brickshave lasted 85 years.

The job began on July 24, 1924, and was finished in mid-October of that year. Hundreds of local laborers worked on the project, but historical material from the Rogers Historical Museum and newspaper accounts say one man, “a large Swede,” actually laid every brick by hand.

Men were paid 35 cents an hour to haul bricks to the mason and children were paid 15 cents an hour to haul water to the workers.

The bricks were fired in a plant in Coffeyville, Kan., then shipped by rail to Rogers.

“It must have been something to watch,” said Gary Townzen, city councilman and local historian.

“I’ve been told the brick mason could lay a half a block of bricks a day.”

Before the bricks were placed, 5 inches of concrete was poured. When it was dry, an inch of sand was poured on the concrete and the bricks were tapped into place. A small amount of tar was poured on the bricks. Over time the tar settled into the cracks leaving the top of the bricks exposed.

Removing the brick is done “very carefully,” said Frankie Guyll, street superintendent.

“First the asphalt has to be milled down a half inch at a time without touching the bricks. We hope when the asphalt is thin enough we can knock it loose without damaging the brick,” Guyll said.

News, Pages 1 on 11/03/2009

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