CASE FOR NEW BRIDGE NEAR BOARD MILES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 31, 29 August 1949, Page 5

CASE FOR NEW BRIDGE NEAR BOARD MILES

A strong case for the siting of the proposed new Whakatane traffic bridge near the Board Mills was y made out by Mr W. G. Clavis at •A Wednesday night’s meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, "\vhich finally gave an undertaking to explore the possibilities of a site he suggested off Marshall’s road and to support it if it proved practicable. That was actually the only aspect , , of the new town planning scheme that evoked much discussion, most agreeing that the bridge was an all-important factor in this town’s future development, and that the siting of the structure was going to have a powerful influence. Workers’ Daily Trek Mr Clavis, urging the Marshall road site as against the claims of the Hinemoa Street one that has found favour with the Borough Council and the County Council, pointed out that, of the 250 workers the Mill employed, 200 travelled to and from Whakatane daily and bought all their daily needs in the town.

He felt sure that the proportion Y of County residents whose interests would be prejudiced by a bridge sited further down the river than Hinemoa Street would be insignificant in relation to the whole County. After all, if a bridge at Marshall’s road did mean an extra three miles on the return trip to White Pine Bush residents who * came to town perhaps once or twice a week, it had to be remembered that a bridge at or near the present , site meant an extra 7 miles a day to every one of the 200 mill hands. f Railhead Nearer To other county residents the bridge site was probably a matter of indifference, and the place he suggested would be a distinct advantage to many of them. Moreover, the placing of the bridge there would provide a railhead just 1|- miles from the Whakatane Post Office.

Mr R. T. Morpeth, president of the Chamber, agreed that, with the daily movements of the mill workers and possible future expansion, that industry’s claims constituted a force to be 'reckoned with. Mr Clavis here interpolated that expansion was not a matter of conjecture only. There was at present in course of construction a sawmill which would be in production next year and other developments were definitely* planned. The Cost Factor Mr T. M. Wilkes warned that the cost of placing a bridge where Mr Clavis suggested it should go would probably be immeasurably greater than putting it nearer the present site, but it would only be a matter of time before popular demand would make a bridge to the mill inevitable in any case. Therefore it would probably be sound policy to make the bridge there now and make the first cost the last. Mr Morpeth said from informavtion he had he feared there might be technical difficulties with - foundations there, but he thought *the possibilities should be explored, and that the Chamber could give that site its support subject to qualified engineers’ assurances that it was practical to put the bridge there.

Thereupon, the meeting resolved to explore the possibilities of the site suggested with a view to supporting the Mill’s case if technical advice confirmed the suggestion’s practicability.