Discussion on 100 years ago: Early-morning phone call results in injury / LJWorld.com

On 100 years ago: Early-morning phone call results in injury

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It would be very interesting to know if any concrete culverts built by Glidden & Hobbs are still in existence today. The one on the Golden Belt road is surely long gone due to upgrading of the highway, but it's possible that the ones by the old Robinson farm and the one on the county line north of Midland are still in existence.

The one on the county line north of Midland should not be at all difficult to locate. My memory is that the old Robinson farm has been mentioned in this column before, so maybe it could be located also.

And, in case anyone wants to point out that concrete poured in 1912 could not possibly still be around today, I would direct them to "Old Highway 36" east of Troy, Kansas, about 50 or so miles north of Lawrence.

"Old Highway 36" was made of poured concrete in the 1920s, and is still a perfectly serviceable highway, although it has a lot of curves and blind intersections, having been built when a typical car was a Ford Model T, and a typical speed was about 15 mph.

But, there are bumps where the sections of concrete meet. They were created by the repeated freezing and thawing of about 90 years, and have shifted the uncracked sections of concrete. But, I will admit, there are some cracks, especially near the edges of the sections of the highway.

Many structures built of concrete have lasted an amazingly long time. So, from appearances, the ability to produce quality concrete was lost decades ago. But actually, it's due to cost cutting measures, a job just barely good enough to meet specifications is about all that can be purchased today, apparently.

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