Concrete: The Rock of Ages

http://hamptonroads.com/2007/12/concrete%3A-rock-ages

"Concrete: The rock of ages"
By Earl Swift
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 16, 2007

'It spills to the ground a suggestible ooze, ready for any shape, many
tasks. A dozen workers encourage it into place with shovels and
gas-powered vibrators, with bull floats and trowels and 6 feet of pine
stud.'

'It slops dark gray around their gumboots. More comes hissing down the
chute, gradually fills a tub formed of plywood sheets. Shovels rasp.
The men press it into the corners, smooth it flat.'

'Wait for magic to happen.'

'Within a few hours the gruel will transform to a hard and hardy mass.
It will resist fire and insects, endure the extremes of weather and
shoulder tremendous loads - here, at least 2 tons on each square inch of
its surface.'

'It will become part of a highway interchange, a braid of ramps and
bridges connecting Interstate 64 and Chesapeake's Battlefield
Boulevard. Soon, thousands of cars and trucks will rumble over this
spot every day. It will not weaken, even as years pass, decades,
centuries; properly maintained, today's creation could last thousands of
years.'

'And yet this stuff is so common, so cheap and plentiful, that we rarely
notice it.'

'Liquid rock. Artificial stone.'

'Concrete.'

'It's almost surely nearby as you read this - underfoot as street,
freeway and sidewalk, stretching away as plaza and promenade, as bridge
and tunnel and parking lot; rising as wall or pillar, punctuating the
landscape as arena, school, shopping mall.'

'It is literally a foundation of modern life. Below our concrete floors
run concrete pipes, concrete pilings, concrete subways. It anchors
piers and skyscrapers, outmuscles rivers, holds back the sea.'

'It is the most-used construction material on Earth: More than a ton of
it is produced each year for every man, woman and child on the planet.'

SMK: See the URL for the rest of the article.

This is the same writer who did a feature article about my websites --

"King of the Roads", by Earl Swift, The Virginian-Pilot, August 21,
2005, an article featuring the Roads to the Future website and the
author.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/218482/king_of_the_road/index.html

--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Capital Beltway Projects http://www.capital-beltway.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com
.