Prospect Point

Based on this illustration by Saturday Evening Post's James Bingham (1917-1971) and the late Forties nondescript "make-believe" car, automobiles were once able to drive near the edge of Prospect Point at the American Falls of the Niagara River.

"Hey, buddy, you can't park there!"

Approximately where this car is pictured, cracks appeared on July 27, 1954, at the edge of the observation area, leading to the area being cordoned off. During the late afternoon of the next day, a massive rockfall occurred that forever changed the look of the falls. Reports describe motorists on Rainbow Bridge witnessing the collapse of approximately 185,000 tons of rock from the brink of the American Falls. To eliminate remaining hazards, the Niagara Frontier State Parks Commission conducted controlled blasts in August 1954.

The rockslide was the largest since 1931. The debris pile became a tourist attraction until it was removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1969. Automobiles are no longer allowed to drive onto Prospect Point itself. The parkway section within the state park was largely removed in the early 1980s to restore the landscape, further limiting vehicle access to the immediate brink. The site is a pedestrian observation area accessible via the Niagara Scenic Parkway and local streets, requiring visitors to walk to the viewing areas.

The Long and Quiet Road

The Natural Rubber Bureau Research Laboratory was a facility that conducted experiments in the 1950s to prove the viability of rubberized roads by embedding rubber in asphalt across the U.S. and Canada. The findings were published in the report “Stretching Highway Dollars with Rubber Roads” (1952). These studies demonstrated that such roads were longer-lasting, safer, slower to freeze, and less brittle below freezing than ordinary asphalt. The pavement provided better skid resistance and produced fewer cracks when compared to concrete, reducing maintenance costs for highway departments. 

The tests were part of a broader historical timeline of mixing rubber and asphalt dating back to the 1920s and earlier experiments in the Netherlands, confirming similar benefits. By 1954, the Bureau of Public Roads had also published laboratory studies evaluating various rubber powders, including those from scrap tires, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and natural rubber, further validating the technology. 

Today, Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC) is a noise-reducing pavement material that consists of regular asphalt concrete mixed with rubber made from recycled tires. It is currently used in many regions, though its use is not universal across America. While historically concentrated in warmer states like Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, and a couple of southeastern states, testing is expanding into northern regions of Washington, Colorado, and Missouri, with recent projects demonstrating improved durability and a quieter driving experience.

Note: Porous Elastic Road Surfaces are a type of low-noise pavement composed primarily of rubber granules, often from scrap tires, and mineral aggregates bound together with polyurethane resin rather than traditional asphalt. This composition creates a highly porous and elastic material that is even quieter, yet it faces challenges regarding durability and bonding.