RUATOKI BRIDGE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 59, 26 March 1943, Page 5

RUATOKI BRIDGE

QUESTION OF REPAIRS

POSITION OF COUNTY COUNCIL In a letter to the Whakatfinc County Council the Field Supervisor of the Ruatoki Native Farm Scheme, Mr J. M. Merritt, stated that the department had authorised the. expenditure of monies Cor the purpose of metalling roads serving areas under the department's supervision at Ruatoki. The cost of the. work would he a direct charge on the units, concerned. In respect to the main exit road leading from the Ruatoki Bridge to areas on the. western side of the Whakatane River i.e. at Rewarau, the council was ask*ed to give consideration to the question of meeting a reasonable, share of the cost of metalling this road. From the Ruatoki Cheese Factory to the Confiscation Boundary at.Rewarau, the distance was approximately lf>o chains. Reporting on the matter the County Engineer, Mr R. O'. Tomkins, at last Tuesdays meeting said: An inspection of the new Ruatoki Bridge was made in compan}' Cr McGougan. Water was lying on the bridge in several places: j\long the wheel tracks and it was found that at a few places the. bitumen surface coat was worn completely through,, exposing the concrete. No damage lias yet been done to the concrete but the bridge should receive immediate attention to prevent same. Engineer's Recommendation. 1 would recommend, continued Mr Tomkins, that the worst holes, about three or four, in the bitumen surface be patched with pre-niixed. tar and metal chips and the whale surface then covered with a coat, of river gravel to a depth of say 4ha. or of such minimum depth as would, provide the necessary protection. As the existing drainage holes would then be covered up, it Avould be necessary to open up additional ones. Seeing the Public Works Department built this bridge, I would rer commend that before carrying out any of the above proposals, such department should be asked if the proposals herein would in any way weaken the structure. An estimate of the cost of the above work was as. follows: Patching bitumen holes item £7 10s; River gravel 120 cubic, yards at 3s (kl, £21; "Drainage holes: 30 No. at 15s £22 10s; Contingencies £5. Total £SG. The amount allowed for constructing drainage holes may vary according to the difficulties encountered. ' The bridge consists of fifteen 45ft spans, and is 10ft Gin between wheelguards 1 . Road Approach Regarding the approach road,, the engineer said an. inspection had *\.lso been made of this section a,nd the distance' from the bridge tfr the start at Rewarau Road was 124 chains. Of this length some 32 chains was in reasonably good order', ; the remaining portion of 92 chains was in bad condition. An estimate of the cost of reconditioning this, road was as follows: Scarifying and re-shaping road 92 chains £20; Metalling 32 chains at 1 cubic yards" to chain 128 cubic yards at 3s 6d £22 8s: Me tailing 92 chains at 8 cubic yards to chain 73(1 cubic yards at 3s 6d £128! Contingencies £10. £181 Is. Mr Merritt considered a reasonable County contribution would be onesfxth of the above estimate. The council after a brief discussion adopted the Works Committee resolution which recommended that the Field Supervisor, Ruatoki, Mr Merritt, be asked/if the council was prepared, to finance portion of the cost of Native road to Rewarau, would the Native. Department cooperate by financing a portion of the maintenance cost of the Ruatoki Bridge and Taneutua-Ruatoki Road.