INEXPLICABLE DELAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 980, 22 November 1910, Page 6

INEXPLICABLE DELAY.

HUTT PIPE BRIDGE "HUNG W."- . The new reinforced concrete pipe and. traffic bridge over ' the Hurt Biver . is "hung-up," and nobody seems to know exactly why.. The bridge proper , is practically ready- for use, but it has no approaches, and," according to at least one. official . propTiecy, there.will be no. approaches made for some months to come. Three' municipalities— the City Council, the Petone : Borough Council, and- the Hutfc Borough' Council—are interested , in the issue.' The Mayor, of the 'Hntt (Mr. E. P. Bunny) has stated that his council has done all that'was expected of it. Mr. J. W. ■M'Ewan, the Mayor of Petone/ has-asserted that the Petone Council is' not to blame, while the third party, the '. Wellington City Council, has given Teasons why, in its opinion, no blame should be cast upon it. The crux of the .whole • ' difficulty, it is stated, concerns certain. ; plans,' specifications, and.estimates which, ' states tho City Council (through 1 the Town Clerk), should have been returned, by the Petone Council to the City Corporation some time ago. The. position, as explained to an interviewer by the Town. Clerk of Wellington yesterday, is. that the bridge was constructed without'; a ■ warrant, the idea being to complete the work in the shortest possible time, in consideration o£ the other municipalities . concerned doing their share of tne approaches. The Government ha(J' contri- ■ buted .£SOO towards the cost,;and there, is yet another .£SOO to come, paring -to. ■ a recent decision in the Supreme Court, ' it became necessary,'in order to obtain the warrant, , to have returned, from Pe- ' tone, the plans, specifications, and-esti- • mates which had been forwarded to suburban councils in connection with the '' bridge, so that application might be ■ made for the warrant nnder the Municipal Corporations Act instead of'under the Public Works Act. Petone states that this has been' done, while tho City Council is equally firm that It. has not been done. In connection therewith, the Wellington City Town Clerk (Mr. Palmer) has addressed the following / letter . to. the Mayor of Petone:— ■' '. ' .

"Sir—l shall be glad if you will be good enough to inform us when, the plan's and specifications and estimates in connection with the approaches to the new Hutt Bridge will be. ready,in order that the. proper application;.may ue made to the Government for the warrant for the' construction thereof. As .the bridge itself, is prac-. ticallv ready for use, the delay is inoxplicable.-(Sgnd.) J. E. Palmer, . Town Clerk." . That is how the matter stands at present. . ._.- ■ ■" " -.:/ .•__.. .-'