MAKING ROADS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2147, 13 May 1914, Page 8

MAKING ROADS

_ 4 PRESENT WASTEFUL SYSTEM MR. C. K. WILSON INTERVIEWED PUBLIC WORKS BOARD. ADVOCATED. Mr. G. K. "Wilson, member for Tauniarunui, who is well known.as an enthusiastic advocate of a vigorous policy of back-blocks development, made some interesting observations on tho subject of reading when ho was interviewed by a Dominion reporter. ' "After nil that has been said by myself and others about back-blocks roads," said Mr. Wilson, "it seems quite superfluous to repeat that an urgent necessity still exists for a progressive policy in this direction. If a comprehensive system of back-blocks reading bad been adopted years ago large sums of money would have been saved and settlement would nave been advanced by many years. In travelling through the out-back districts, some practical knowledge is necessary to enable one to realise the amount of money that has been expended or . uselessly sunk witliout giving any real advantage to anybody-. You will find roads laid off and.pegged, and such.money as was available spent on formation, but that was so little that there was never aiiy possibility of completing the work. What was the use of pegging off the whole length in such cases? Work is discontinued probably for a couple of years, and then laying off is started again. This procedure lias been gone through fivo-'or sis 'times', in places where tho road is still uncompleted. Also I ran point out roads that- have been forriied and graded as many as four times, and the rest of the grant spent on as much metalling as it would cover, tho regaining unmotallcd portion being in a worse condition' for traffic after such formation than before. The next year, after the winter's wear and tear, the j road has to bo re-formed before metalling can proceed, and so on each timo there is a, grant. Anyono can see the advisability and economy of crowning, making and metalling as much permanent reading as the money in hand would permit. In other cases a road is laid'off through a block. A section is completed, their a gap is left untouched, another portipn .'completed, arid another gap untouched, or partly formed, and in some roads there arc so many unfinished gaps that the.road is .rendered quite.useless. Sometimes you will, find a cutting half through, and tho work then abandoned. Weighted Lands. ■ "Tho hlosks of which I speak," said Mr. Wilson, "aro Government settlements, and very few people other than tho settlers' know that when tho land was taken up it was weighted vifcli so much per acre for tho purpose of forming their loads. If this money is wastefully spent it means that the settler is Spaying interest for that which ho does not get. There a-o cases in which settlers have paid interest for as long as ten years, and still have nothing -but a bridlo track, and there aro settlers who cannot even boast of that for their money ._ Now the cause of all this disorder is of long standing, and is -not seen at first sight. First. there is the want of a system, a continuous progressive system. Why should not roads bo made on a system with continuity liko ■any other Government' undertaking— railways, buildings, etc? I will give two illustrations. The cost/of 'straightening' the Hutt raihvav was estimated at £110,000. As the work proceeded it became obvious that it would cost considerably more, and £300,000 was needed for its completion, but for all that (being a railway) tho work was pushed on to a finish without a break. Observo the difference where, a railway is concerned. The main, road from Waitara, to To Kuili, being the arterial road from Taranaki to Auckland, and settled along its full length, has, under the piece-meal system, been-over twenty, years under construction. Yet at a very short distance from either terminus the) road is still for the, greater part of the year useless. During these twenty years under, the Government grant system a certain amount of money has been spent spasmodically every year, part of each new grant being spent in putting in order the work of the previous year, to say nothing of the largo sums spent every winter in 'fa-seining,' that is, laying bundles of manuka in the worst mud holes to permit of immediate traffic. In fact, enough money has been spent to have completed the road if tenders had been called or the work undertaken on a proper system. Tho read to Ohura and other important roads in my district have been treated in the same way. And I repeat again that had a continuous system obtained the roads could have; been completed as metalled highways' for the money already spent. Causes of Waste. "Another vital cause of waste is this: The date'at which Parliament passes tho appropriations is altogether too late. Road work done in early summer stands tw-ico as well as that done in autumn, but under tho present system tho grants are not available until tho end of the session, and work does not start till well after the new year. Still another wasteful item is tho constant pitching striking and repitching and restriking of camps. For every new grant, however small, a new camp must be established and new men brought in.. Consequently another slice of the grant goes in. getting things ready for the job. Realise that, as settlement goes on (the same system prevailing), tho demands for reading aro increasing annually. We are to-day fully five years behindhand in our obligations in roadmaking, and every additional block opened adds an additional burden. How is it possible that any Government should get abreast,of it by means of tinpot grants ? And of what use will even a million loan bo unless we can do something to systematise road-making and eliminate tho wasteful piece-meal expenditure? If Mr. Slassey sees his way to ' carry out thcproposal to borrow specially for this purpose, the money cannot possibly bear its full fruit to the settlers unless a comprehensive scheme is first laid down. It will be necessary to carefully determine nil over tho Dominion before the money is raised which works have most urgent claims, and get ari accurate estimate of the cost of each worlc. Tho'proposal should bo brought | down and submitted to Parliament in good time so that the work may be proceeded with, not towards the end of the summer, but. in the early part of tho ' season. A Classification Board. "As to annual expenditure," continued Mr. Wilson, "until a proper system is devised it is quite evident that tho reading of back-blocks will remain hopelessly in arrears. In determining how money, shall be spent, the first move in the new order of iliings must be classification. A board or commission, assisted by local bodies, must he set up to classify the developmental needs of districts according to urgency. The works must be completed in order of preference, as laid down, and that straight on, without a stop other than the seasons .necessitate. As work proceeds a reclassification will be necessary. When Parliament has determined the amount of money, for such public works, the distribution should be in the hands of a Public Works Board, consisting of two practical man and a third, an engineer of anility and standing, ivhoso dutv should be to insnect all works under the scheme, and allocate the moneys for the requirements of each district on the basis of urgency,'!