The Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), New South Wales (NSW), Australia, has developed a project, on the first concrete pavements in history, titled “The Developments in Concrete Pavements Oral History Project”. Recorded on digital audio tape, it comprises nearly 16 hours of interviews with road engineers, designers, builders, RMS staff, the Oxenford brothers from Grafton, and a cement hand.
It traces the historical development of concrete pavements through reference to a number of significant projects in NSW, Australia. Early projects included King Street (1880), Parramatta Road (late 1920s), Marulan (1929) and Ulmarra (1939). The use and development of concrete pavements continued through the latter half of the twentieth century with landmark projects such as the Warringah Expressway (late 1960s), Lower Yarra Crossing (early 1970s), Clybucca (1975), Foreshore Road at Botany (1978/79) and a number of improvements along the Hume Highway (1980s and 1990s).
A compilation CD and booklet summarizing the key themes uncovered during the course of the project have been prepared, and may be ordered from the Transport Library at a cost of A$11 plus postage and handling.
To order the RMS Oral History Program on the RMS Transport Library website, please click here.
Transport for NSW Library: FAX: 61 2 8849 2488.
Researchers and historians wishing to access the source interview tapes and associated logs should contact the Transport Library: Phone: 61 2 8849 2913
The first concrete pavement in the world was built in Inverness, Scotland in 1865. Some of the concrete pavement laid in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1872 is still in use today. —Concrete Construction Magazine, April 2014
The first concrete pavement in the United States was paved in 1891: Court Avenue in downtown Bellefontaine, Ohio. —Concrete Construction Magazine, April 2014
The first mile of concrete highway construction began on April 20, 1909, in Detroit, Michigan, USA. —Michigan in Pictures, April 2012
Roads and Maritime Services is a NSW Government agency delivering safe and efficient journeys throughout NSW, managing the operations and programs of roads and waterways.
For the link to an historical profile on the earliest concrete pavements posted January, 2015 on the ISCP website. please click here.
