Texas’s oldest concrete road is celebrated

On 21 May, San Antonio and concrete industry representatives celebrated the centennial of Belknap Place, the oldest existing concrete street in Texas, with the unveiling of a Texas State Historical Commission marker.

The concrete section is 0.7 miles long and 40 ft. wide, and was built in 1914. It has functioned admirably, providing a durable, low-maintenance pavement for a progression of vehicles from horse and buggy to automobiles, trucks and busses. It employed a patented ‘Granitoid’ system that featured a 2-course wet-on-wet concrete placement, with hard, durable coarse aggregate in a rich mortar mix for the surface course. Its stamped brick-like surface provided improved traction for horseshoes.

The festivities included an evening cocktail party at the nearby historic Baumberger Estate – a 1929 concrete home built by Alamo Cement’s longtime president and early PCA board member Charles Baumberger Sr.PCA President and CEO Jim Toscas attended the event. Alamo Cement /Buzzi Unicem USA, CEMEX, Texas Lehigh Cement, the Texas Aggregates and Concrete Association, and the Texas Concrete Pavement Association were represented as were the American Concrete Pavement Association and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association.

Adapted from press release by Rebecca Bowden

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/22062016/texas-oldest-concrete-road-is-celebrated-316/