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The Dreadfort
Domeric traced the routes along the map with his finger, calculating labor flow and materials. Phase one would begin slowly but perfectly . Mills, roads, and infrastructure along the weeping river would be erected with haste.
It was common sense and well known knowledge that without functioning mills, grain would rot; without passable roads, supplies and people could not move efficiently. Trade would decline and the land would become stagnant.
So roads had become the main priority before all else the first of the many great works to initially begin.
Steelshanks Walton had already dispatched patrols to ensure laborers arrived safely to the quarries at the lonely hills north of the dreadfort, others would be working nearby the dreadfort itself, mining sand and crushing aggregates along the river banks. The sand was dark enough, coarse in quality and good for usage in building . And he appreciated its quality and its potential, linking it to sand used in his last life to make tall buildings this world could only dream of.
And with that being said he had chosen the best readily available materials for making the road.
For efficiency and durability, he had interjected the need for a road similar to the ones used in Bravos , Pentos and Tyrosh. And based on accounts these roads were more akin to a hybrid valyrian roads or roman roads in similarity, a coincidence? Of course not.
From what he could remember roman roads were durable and far easier to lay down. They were suited for cold weather or any weather at that , resistant to thermal expansion and soil shifts thus they were well suited for the needs of the north.
These roads by official standards would be constructed in multiple layers , firstly the foundation, intermediate, core and surface, using packed stone, gravel, sand, flat stones then concrete, featuring a camber for drainage and often military precision for straightness. We had no advanced cement nor the 21st-century concrete he was used to, but mortar could be made quickly, as it was used to lay stones and bricks to build castles, and so thus would be concrete, as quicklime, aggregates, and sand were also available resources.
The Foundation would comprise Large stones, rubble, or a herisson (rough stones) layer was laid, sometimes on timber piles in soft ground. The Intermediate: Smaller stones, crushed rock, pebbles, sand, or gravel, often mixed with mortar or cement. The core is a finer layer of cement, broken tiles, coarse sand, or gravel. And it would be closely finished by large polygonal stone slabs, rounded, then covered by concrete for a smooth surface (cambered for drainage).
Drainage would be made of raised kerbs set, and a slight slope was maintained to channel rainwater into side ditches.
The road was designed to be ten feet wide , enough room for travel on both sides without issue or collision. They would be reliable and easily maintainable and it started from here, at the seat of the Boltons, the Dreadfort. It would span outwards linking it to all main parts of his lands and important centers that now remain.
This smooth road would resist rain, snow and be easier for carts, animals and for humans to commute easily , and would be better than the mud they were used to.
So whatever tools and resources he could buy from nearby lands were bought: draft horses, oxen, sheep, pigs, and steel—as much as he could buy to distribute and create proper tools for the almost infinite work that was at hand.
Better sledgehammers, saws, hammers, a long-shaft spade/shovel, and new pickaxes designed and drawn by yours truly.
Everything they needed for this undertaking were being imported; we bought more grain, barges, and finished goods from the Manderlys; ploughs and all necessary attachments to the soil tillers; and anything that we couldn't make in quantitative numbers were bought. Gold would not hoarded selfishly.
The barges were needed in large numbers, as they served as a quicker, better means to ferry the much-needed resources from the mines southward and to the Dreadfort in larger quantities. Anyone with a boat along the river was hired; fishermen that had failed to make any profitable catches were rounded up and paid for their services to transport stone, sand, gravel, lumber, and everything necessary for the construction.
The means by which to fix this land—he will have them all. Caro had sent his letters to Essos weeks ago, and the necessary artisans and masons would arrive soon, but in the meantime we had to work with who we had until we could hire more or lure them away with coin and boons. By another month or half, a moon in this sense, he should have a larger skilled workforce to work with. Men willing to accept coin and accommodations for their knowledge and expertise.
The sound of steel being hammered nonstop resounded in his ear, this had suddenly become a regular part of everyday life. With quotas to meet and a list of many tools to make, the blacksmiths who were brought in had little time to relax or doze off. In the Dreadfort's yard, under the hurriedly constructed gazebo for a workshop, more than thirty-two of them labored hard with their apprentices.
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