It now remains for me to set forth the gross cost of the metropolitan highways, that is to say, the sum annually expended in both labour and materials, as well for relaying as for repairing the roads.
The granite-built streets cost, when relaid, about 11,000l. the mile, of ten yards’ width, which is at the rate of 12s. 6d. the square yard, materials and labour included, the granite (Aberdeen) being 1l. 5s. per ton, and one ton of “seven-inch” being sufficient to cover about three square yards.
The average cost of a macadamized road, materials and labour included, if constructed from the foundation, is about 4400l. per street mile (ten yards wide)—5s. the superficial yard being a fair price for materials and labour.
Wood pavement, on the other hand, costs about 9680l. a mile of ten yards’ width for materials and labour, which is at the rate of 11s. the superficial yard.
The cost of repairs, materials and labour included, is, for granite pavement about 1½d. per square yard, or 100l. the street mile of ten yards wide; for “Macadam” it is from 6d. to 3s. 6d., or an average of 1s. 6d. per superficial yard, which is at the rate of 1320l. the street mile; while the wood pavement costs about the same for repairs as the granite.
The total cost of repairing the streets of London, then, may be taken as follows:—
| £ | |
| Repairing granite-built streets, per mile of ten yards wide | 100 |
| Repairing macadamized roads, per street mile | 1320 |
| Repairing wood pavement, per street mile | 100 |
Or, as a total for all London,—
| Repairing 400 miles of granite-built streets, at 100l. per mile | 40,000 |
| Repairing 1350 miles of macadamized streets, at 1320l. per mile | 1,782,000 |
| Repairing five miles of wood, at 100l. per mile | 500 |
| £1,822,500 |
The following, on the other hand, may be taken as the total cost of reconstructing the London streets:—