THE HUTT ROAD.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2401, 5 March 1915, Page 9

THE HUTT ROAD.

MAINTENANCE ARRANGEMENTS. The deadlock still exists in respect to the proposal to charge the interested local bodies proportionately for the repair and maintenance of the Hutt Road. In the meantime the City- „ Engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton) lias reported that the foundation metal of tllio Toad has been exposed in many places, and the highway to the Hutt, so recently as perfect a road as existed in Australasia, lies in danger of becoming disintegrated and hollowed if the required attention is not given it. The traffic over the road in the approaching winter ' will, if nothing is done, reduce it' to a condition something like it was in tfhe dark old days. Perhaps the borough which benefits most. bv this road being kept in a good condition is Petono. Nearly all the freight: which is taken from Wellington to. Petone goes over the road in carriers' carts for tlie simple reason that it is cheaper to do so than to incur tho cost of railway freight, and a handling at each end. Yet the Petone Borough Council has, through its representative (Mr. J. W. M'Ewen) refused to face the cost of maintaining the road according tothe proportion worked out by the Commissioner (Mr. W. S. Short, Assistant-Under-Secretary of Public Works) for the payment of tie capital cost of the road. The deadlock is the result of Pefcons's attitude. This, however, will not prevent the- city doing its duty. The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) said that he takes' a broad view of tlie utility of the Hutt Road, as the one main artery from the. city to tlie country and he cannot stand idly "by and- see the road ruined by inaction. • Mr. Morton had reported that it would, require the services of six surface men- continually to keep the road in decent order,. and these men are _to be provided very shortly. Two will reside at Petone and the rest in Wellington, so that there will be no unnecessary delay in reacting any point on the road where their services are required. The work of these men will be overseen by the foreman of streets works (Mr. J. J. Kerslake), who will see that as far as possible the surface of the road will be preserved. A separate aocount will be kept of the'moneys so expended, _ and later on means might be devised, for bringing the recalcitrant local. Bodies into line- as .regards their proportion of the cost of the work to be done. '