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16 <br />I• <br />The ensuing two years saw resumed installation of brick pavement which <br />nearly reached the levels of the preceding decade, but by 1915 a perceptible <br />shift to asphaltic concrete paving was occurring. By 1916 major road <br />construction paved with brick had cea6ed.(17) <br />The average annual construction of paved streets during the decade from <br />1911 to 1920 increased by half over that of the preceding decade but found the <br />preferred material shifting overwhelmingly from brick to asphalt, despite <br />brick having become comparatively cheap by 1921 at $11.60 per yard compared to <br />asphalt at $16.50. Concrete was still less expensive at $10,66 per yard, but <br />had never performed well in the local climate. <br />The first half of the 1920s saw steady development of new streets at a <br />rate twice that during preceding decade. However, the majority of these <br />streets were of asphalt with concrete as a'distant second choice. At the close <br />of 1924, 53% of South Bend City Streets remained unpaved. Of the paved <br />streets; 439 were brick, 49% asphalt, and 9% concrete. Only 8% of the new <br />pavement laid in that year.was of brick.(18) <br />As noted above, there is some controversy regarding who laid the first <br />brick paving in the city, but the number of companies involved in brick <br />pavement projects in the city was quite limited throughout the period of its <br />use. The 1897 report of the city engineer indicated that nearly all paving in <br />that year was laid by two companies with Robert, Hoban & Roach installing <br />slightly more than C. H. Defrees. The only other contract reported that year <br />was with James Nelson working under the commercial name of Nelson & Webster, <br />but this contract represented less than 1% of the brick paving commissioned by <br />(17) ibid, Table #9' <br />• (18) ibid, Table #9 <br />