The big test of a new and speedy way to make airfield runways came when a New England airdrome for fighters was used for Flying Fortresses. The runways, made of a mixture of soil and cement, came through handsomely, stood up under the beating of B-17 landings as well as they had taken the lighter swoops of P-40s. Thus a short cut to hard-surface roads as well as airdromes was war-proved.
Never intended to replace reinforced concrete, soil cement has far exceeded engineering expectations. Engineers had known that the ground where cement bags were shaken out soon hardened. But soil cement...
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