Chapter 134 Roads And Tracks

It was a wonderful warm morning in the city of Hoverdam. As the sewage expansion is beginning to near its completion, the palace had managed to redeploy a few workers into the construction of the main roads, tram tracks, and tram stations to be utilized soon. This is to connect Lower-East Middletown to Industrial District 1 and allow the free movement of people.

The workers consisted of a few retired knights and laborers, with a wide variety of materials being utilized, consisting of gravel, sand, cement, and bricks. The men also were bringing in a variety of tools to get their jobs done in an effective manner. These materials, labor, and equipment were all brought in a convoy of caravans. It soon stopped at the area of construction, with them dropping down to the ground.

One of them was a man going by the name of William, one with a rather large beard, holding a rolled map. He has been tasked with supervising the construction of a main road. He unrolled the map, which depicted how and where the roads, tracks, and tram stations should be built. The roads consisted of a straight line, forming grid patterns, with the fields of grass being where the factories should be built.

There were two types of roads being built. The main road and the normal road. The main road had tracks in the middle, allowing steam trams to move around and transport people off to stations, encompassing a width of 2.5 meters.

The rest of the main road, which is designated to everyone else, being people, animals, carriages, and caravans, comprised an area of 6 meters total, with them being split in two, separated by the tram zone.

The normal roads were just main roads, being 6 meters in width. It was where all the usual went. The type of road they were there to build, was a brick road. Although it was considered relatively expensive compared to the alternatives, Kant chose to commission a brick road as it provided a smooth and durable road that could handle heavy traffic.

Considering that potentially thousands of men and caravans would be traveling in and out, sometimes carrying dangerous materials, it was best Kant played it safe. Besides, the tax revenue generated will outweigh the amount spent on it.

William gathered the workers around, to allow them to be split into two groups. Group 1 consisted of normal people, without any spec of mana inside them. The second group of people consisted of retired knights drafted for the job. With their enhanced strengths through magic, they would be perfect for heavy lifting and tiring work.

"Alright everyone, listen up! There are a few steps that you need to know when trying to build a road. The first step is to prepare the site. We are required to make sure that the road goes straight, and the foundation is leveled." He turned to the first group and educated them on their tasks.

"You are all to grab your hammers, wooden sticks, and rope from the crates. While some of you hammer the wooden sticks to the ground, the others will connect the small pikes with the rope. We need to make sure that the road we will be building would be straight.". He then turned to the second group. Being former knights, they stood straighter than the first group.

"I need you all to get the materials and equipment out. Do NOT open the cement bags just yet. You will open them until I tell you to."

"Now, do you all understand?"

"Yes sir," they replied.

"Good. Now get to work. We don't want to stay in the heat for too long." The men soon got to work. The laborers start hammering the pikes on the ground and connecting them with rope, while the magical workers were given something else to do. The pikes were placed on two sides so that the width of the road would be similar.

The laborers went on for a while, making sure that it was a smooth straight line. Straight as they could get it at least. It took them an hour, with many readjustments, measuring, and so on. Once they completed, they rushed back and informed William.

"Good. Group 2! Start clearing out the roadway. Use your shovels to dig a foot-and-a-half-deep trench," the man instructed. The workers grabbed their shovels and started to dig. As they tore through the ground, their strength enhanced thanks to their mana reserves.

"Everyone else, continue to prepare the gravel. We will need it later." about 2 and a half hours later, some of the workers with the shovel came back, covered in sweat informing the supervisor that the task had been done. William, seeing how tired they were, gave them a break and instructed the other workers to level the trench.

They grabbed some hoes, shovels, and pickaxes, as well as a bubble measure, made mostly out of wood and glass, to do the job. Leveling the shallow trenches was more tedious than they would have expected, but regardless, they finished the job 30 minutes before midday and informed the supervisor.

"Good. Gather around everyone! It is time for step 2!" he exclaimed. Soon, the workers gathered around, all covered in sweat, with some visibly breathing.

"The next step is to fill up the trenches with gravel, and make sure that it is leveled! From then on only, we can pave the road and build the tracks." After being assigned their tasks, they got back to work. Some brought in the barrels of gravel needed while others dumped it into the trench.

They continuously received more gravel from incoming caravans, who provided all the materials they need. This went on till the entire trench was nearly filled with gravel. It was only then that they leveled this gravel again, to ensure a smooth road was built. The supervisor gathered them around and told them their next task.

"Well done everyone. Now, what we now need to do is to lay the bricks. The first group will be laying the bricks, while the second group will be bringing them over to the first. Got that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Now, attention first group! You will need to be laying the bricks in a herringbone pattern. The arrow the pattern makes needs to point back up. Inform me when you have completed it.. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now get back to work folks! I am sure you all don't to be out here in the sun any longer!" he said. The workers, using their bare hands, brought over and laid the bricks on the road. The bricks, gray in color, were laid by the men for hours, covering a distance of 1.2 KM (0.75 miles). Once there were only a few meters left to lie, they educated the instructor on the progress.

"Good. Now get the group to take that bubble level measurer, and see if the bricks are all leveled," he ordered. The supervisor then went on to group 2 and instructed them with the following.

"Start making the cement. We will be needing to use all that we got here. Half of you will be responsible to bring the materials, while the other will make it.". As group one leveled the laid brick road, the second group made the cement using 3 parts of sand, stirred it up, and ready to be used.

Group Two was then assigned to bed the road with the cement mortar. As they placed in on. the mortar slipped and forced into the joints between the bricks. This helped to create a strong, interlocking surface.

All while this was going on, the rail lines were aligned and layered on top of the cement bedding and bolted into place with metal plates and bolts. The cement bedding helped to anchor the rails securely to the road surface and prevent them from shifting or moving under the weight of a passing tram.

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom Once that was done, the surface was finished with a layer of mortar, to fill in any gaps present and to create a smooth, even surface using trowels and floats. With that, the road was completed, along with the rail lines.

The workers gathered around, all exhausted from working for about 9 hours so far, with a few breaks here and there. William, upon seeing how tired the men were, gave them a 20-minute break. They all soon spread out, going under the shade to get some rest.

Once they had their break, they started to pave more roads, with some more people coming in the build the tram stations. It would take weeks from there to fully complete the road and tram network, but that was not the only problem. The problem is convening merchants to come to settle here.