John Loudon McAdamDied 26 Nov 1836 at age 80 (born 21 Sep 1756).John Loudon McAdam was born in Ayr, Scotland, and was the inventor of of macadamized roads. He made his fortune in his uncle's counting-house. (New York City, 1770-83) then returned to England. McAdam developed new methods of road construction. In 1816, as surveyor to the Bristol Turnpike Trust, he re-made their roads with a raised carriageway to improve drainage. Stones were graded and laid in three levels, with the smallest stones crushed and laid as a top surface. This provided swifter and safer travel. Later he added tarmacadam ("tarmac", asphalt) to bind the top layer. His methods were adopted in many other countries. In 1827 he was made surveyor-general of metropolitan roads in Great Britain.[Image: engraving by Charles Turner] |
