metalling

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of metal

plural metallings

1. countableuncountableA road surface, especially one of gravel (but sometimes with reference to macadam, tarmacadam, or asphalt concrete).

   And I did do jobs like collecting acorns which we fed to the pigs, mixed with other things. And I also picked stones off the fields which was done in those times, stones as metalling for the roads.

   1971, George Ewart Evans, quoting Margaret Meek (born 1909), Tools of Their Trades: An Oral History of Men at Work c. 1900, Taplinger Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 143

   1 more example

   Almora, April 1 — Almora District Magistrate DS Garbyal has expressed his annoyance at the poor quality of work executed by the personnel of the Public Works Department (PWD) in the district. […] In a letter addressed to the Chief Engineer of the PWD, Garbyal highlighted defects in the roads, culverts and drains that were built during the last financial year. He said the metalling of the roads had started to come off and the potholes marking the roads were causing accidents.

   2012 April 2, Editorial staff, “DM [District Magistrate] annoyed over poor quality of work”, in Tribune News Service, Chandigarh, India, retrieved 23 May 2023

2. countableuncountableThe process or an instance of installing such a surface; paving.

   [Footnote 32] According to the French map of the Levant, laid in 1925, before the metalling of the roads.

   1964, J.M. Fiey, “The Iraqi section of the Abbassid Road Mosul—Nisibin”, in Iraq, volume 26, number 2, →DOI, →JSTOR, pages 106–117

   2 more examples

   One of the most important tasks was the metalling of the roads, and the dumping of metal beside them in parts where it was impossible to lay it, in order that work might commence with the assault. The surface of the roads was good, but only because the Division had been holding a front so wide, which made the traffic upon them relatively light.

   1922, Falls Cyril, The History of the 36th (Ulster) Division, M'Caw, Stevenson and Orr, Ltd

   The Roman street had seven successive metallings. The latest metallings were contemporary with the tile works.

   1979, The Antiquaries Journal, volume 58, page 106