THE HUTT ROAD

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 291, 28 August 1918, Page 6

THE HUTT ROAD

PROPOSED CONCRETE TRACK

COST AND LABOUR

PRESSURE FROM THE SUBURBS. Yesterday 'afternoon the Hutt Road Board met to affirm the Hutt Road bylaw (adjourned from a meeting held last week). The by-law itself is now practically through the whole of its tortuous stages, but the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) proposed yesterday that Parliament should be approached to postpone the operation of the taxing clauscs on motor vehicles until six months after the end of the war, as it was not considered that they would have the new concrete road ready for motor traffic until then. The Mayor moved in that direction, but, owing to differences in ideas, the discussion ended without tho motion being put at all. Mr. F. T. Moore, viewing tho proposal as an indefinite postponement of thework, said that Wellington was getting altogether too slow—there was too much "taihoa" on the part of tho public men. Auckland was borrowing £100,000 for street improvements, and we were stopping this important work for a paltry £20,000. If they could not get the money, then tho sooner the, Government told us that the country i was bankrupt tho hotter. There was at j presont plenty of labour and plenty of material. If this road wero laid down motor people would be saved £100 a year on tyres alone and £100 on other material, and they were willing to pay for it. He did not think the board should ask Parliament for this postponement. Motor people were prepared even to pay a'year in advance to seo this work commenced, rather than suffer tho disadvantages of <a bad track. What they did object to pay wero the fees charged for running over a. bad macadam road, which racked and ruined their vehicles. The Mayor called Mr. Moore's attention to Section 9, and explained that the proposal was not necessarily a postponement of the work, but was a postponement in tho time for collecting the fees. Mr. Moore: Tho track could be put down in sis months.

Tho Mayor fully agreed that something should be dono as soon as possible. He said that doubtless plenty of labour would be available from tho wharves, which were not now providing so many men with work owing to the absence of ships, but when the ships came-along the men would probably return to the wharves.

Mr. Moore did not agree with the Mayor, and said that an additional source of labour would be men engaged on several large buildings now approaching completion. The Mayor said thjrt the City Solicitor had asked for the board's sanction for him to apply for tho postponement of tho taxing sections of the by-law, and had pointed out that by doing so thoy would be safeguarding tho Act. Mr. J. W. M'Ewan agreed with Mr. Moore to a great extent in getting on with the work as soon as possible. Would the position bo any better at tho end of the war than it was now? He did not think so. It would take a long t'ime to bring a great number of their men back after the war was over. Ho was not at all convinced that tho labour trouble was going to end with the war, and he did not believe that wages or tho cost of materials would be any lower then than at present. Cement was somowhero about the price it was before the war, and shingle and gravel had not altered much. He felt sure that there would be no less difficulty after the war than now, and possibly they would be accentuated when the war was over, as' many people had postponed their building arrangements until after the war. He agreed with Mr. Moore that a good concrete road would save much in wear and tear, particularly as regards tyres. The Mayor pointed out the difficulties of getting anyono to~9o tho technical work, and callod on the City Engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton) to explain what they were. ; Mr. Morton said that they had to get the levels of the road for oj miles, as in somo places it was worn down below tho original levels, and they must have exact data on which to base tho depth of the excavation to be done by the contractors. Then they had to plot the cross sections, to suit tho permanent cross-fall of tho road. All that work had to be done, and ho had not tho time to attend to it.

Mr. Moore said it could not bo expected that so busy a man could do such work, and suggested that outside assistance might be got, seeing that it was a special work.

Mr. Morton said that the price of material had increased by from 30 to 40 per oent. on what it was in ordinary times, and they would have to go on paying interest on the increased cost l'or all time. The difficulty of procuring labour was an acute one, and if it was decided to go on with the work it would be found a task of considerable magnitude to undertake at 'the present time.

Mr. Moore did not see how the difficulties w,ero to becpme less acute for years to come.

Mr. M'Ewan thought that Mr. Morton might get the plans out, even if he had to engage outside assistance. He could not see how the cost was ever going to be less than at present. The Mayor pointed out that Wellington had a plan of improvements all ready to go ahead with, but for obvious reasons they could not proceed. In Auckland power was being sough to raise £100,000, but it did not necessarily moan that the money was going to be spoilt right away. Provision was probably being made so that the contemplated street works could bo proceeded with nt the first favourable opportunity. They all knew where they were now, and perhaps it would bo nest to adjourn consideration of the matter till another meeting. That was agreed to by all present.