CONCRETE ROADS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 157, 28 March 1919, Page 8

CONCRETE ROADS

LOCAL BODIES CONFER. (From Our Special Correspondent.) Paitnersion North, March 27. What was considered as the "ucg-in-thu-iu-angcr" policy ul tlie Uoveriuuent was raerrtd lo at the conterencu oi local bodies held at Woodviile on Wednesday io consider the (iiieacion of ooncrete roads, and tne betterment' ot Toads generally. Touching on the matter, the chairman, Councillor G. D. M'Farlaue, of Wsodvillo, voiced the opinion oi several delegates when he said that the Government feared that concrete roads would compete with the railways, and would act accordingly. (Mr. M'Farlaue said that ail were agreed as to the necessity , for iv change for the better in the present reading system. He mentioned that in AVoodviilo borough the tar-sealing system had proved very beneficial, and in Taranaki macadamised roads had proved very effective. Numbers of people, on tlio other hand, were wedded to concrete road 6. In toucning on the question of the tion of a 10 per cent., motor-tyro tax, Mr. M'FarUmo said that this would- realise approximately Jiiti.OOO. Added to the aai/,UUI) at present received lrom motorcars, tliis would briiy in, a total sum ol .6200,000. If tins was ear-marked by the Government for the construction of concrete roads, it would not go very far. An interesting contribution to the discussion was made by Mr. Sain Jickell, engineer to the Palmerston North Borough Council. In his opinion the local bodies could not afford concrete roads, owing to the great cost. With regard to the estimate of .£3OOO per mile, ho considered that should be doubled, making the initial outlay JjfiOOO. How were tlio local bodies going to finance this expenditure? No doubt the Auckland roads were very good, but the cost would bar local bodies until they got considerably more in rates than they did at the present. The taxes could be utilised for paying the interest on loans for loads, but in tho Government they wouid strike a snag. At tho recent engineers' conference at Auckland ft good proposal had been made in the shape of the construction of a memorial concroto road from Auokland to Invercargill, but it had been pointed out that tho Government would not, so long as it controlled the railways, agree to a proposal of that nature-. Inferring to tarred roads, Mr, Jickell saul that there wore certain materials uned in tlieir construction that were not affected by tho atmosphere. In this connection he instanced two pieces of road that had been treated with "restar" with great success. To his mind t.ho ideal reads were thoso on the Auckland wharves, which were in concrcin with a coaling of tar. Here again, however, one ini«lit well n«k. where were the local bodies going lo find money? The con. c ensii= of opinion among the delc'ites was thai; while concrete ronds would prove in Hie low run cliMp and olficir-it. their huce initial eest nre"ludod the linssibility of their adontion by local bodies, on " large scale. As an upshot of the discussion, it wes decided ; I-,, jirranw for i> wiaJ conference of ■ inr-<l bndies at Wellington during next ■w.-inn.