HIGHWAYS BOARD TOLD OF PROGRESS ON BRIDGE WORK

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 41, 8 May 1950, Page 5

HIGHWAYS BOARD TOLD OF PROGRESS ON BRIDGE WORK

Progress made with renewed and replacements of main highways bridges listed as urgent works has been reported to the Main Highways Board by its officials. The board was told in November, 1947, that 700 bridges should be renewed, and that 300 of these should be started within three years if possible. Only 14 of these 300 have been built. Work is in progress or contracts have been let for another 30, and plans are complete for another 15. The 286 bridges on the urgent list still to be built are likely to cost about £3,500,000 to complete. As another 400 bridges should be built at a not too distant time, the board has at least £5 million worth of bridging to do within a short period of years. Apart from material, permanent bridge renewals were limited by the small amount of skilled labour that would undertake what was normally outback work. If the position improves the amount spent on (■•ridging should be gradually increased to £1 million a year and kept at tnat for a few years.

About two-thirds of the 19 sets of Bailey bridging bought by the board was in use, the reports stated. This had been bought for use in emergency, and to hold up some of the wooden truss bridges which would not otherwise carry heavy loads.