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Wood Blocks Returning To Historic Philly Street Paved With Asphalt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - One of Philadelphia's historic streets has lost some of it's charm after wooden pavers were taken out and replaced with asphalt in the fall. But it will be restored in the New Year.

Streets Department Commissioner David Perri says Camac Street's two-block stretch of wooden blocks had been ravaged by regular usage and the freeze thaw-cycle. The last re-installment was 2008.

"It was a historical method of paving in Philadelphia," he says. "It was used primarily to dampen the sound of horses and carts, and it was fairly common up to about a hundred years ago."

He says four-by-four inch blocks were typically the way to go, but...

"We had to pave that street early in the fall, because many of the blocks had deteriorated where we had a tripping hazard on that street, and the blocks were no longer tightly packed and had become loose."

New four-by-eight inch blocks will be installed in the Spring, and hopefully will have a longer life this time around.

Camac Street between Walnut and Locust was originally paved with wooden blocks to dampen the sound of horses and carts.

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