MR. DOBSON'S REPORT ON THE AMURI ROAD.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1455, 2 April 1873, Page 2

MR. DOBSON'S REPORT ON THE AMURI ROAD.

The following is the report made to the Engineer-in-Chief, on the Ahaura and Amuri road, by Mr A D. Dobson, Acting District Engineer ; — Sir— l have the honor to forward you the following report upon the road from the Ahaura township to the Amuri saddle, known as the Amuri road. In accordance with instructions received from the Public Works department, I carefully examined the present line, and also the adjacent country, with a view to laying out a permanent line of road. The distance from Ahaura to the top of the saddle is about 40 miles ; for the first five miles the road has been already made, and a further expenditure of LSO would make it a good dray road ; as this will be probably soon done by the Government (Provincial), it is not necessary to take it into account. At this point, known as Matthews', the bush begins, and the road runs through the Ten-Mile Bush to Starvation Point, where the: track ends, and travellers have to take the shingle bed, crossing the river frequently, and the river bed is followed up to the foot of the saddle. A rough bush track leads from the river bed to the top of the saddle, where open ground is reached and ..the. descent into the Waiau-ua commences. The river bed is used for about 29 miles, but a good deal of it is fair travelling. . • On grassy lands, and through many of the points where the crossings are bad, the stock-drivers have cut narrow tracks through the bush. A bush track about six feet wide was once made from the point known as Matthews' to the Saddle, but no earth-work was done on it ; subsequently, as it was found impossible to drive stock along the track from Starvation Point to Matthews', the bush being too boggy, a horge road was made by corduroying the soft places, and excavating down to the gravel on the hard ground ; this portion of the track has fallen greatly out of repair, the corduroy is perfectly rotten, and the sunken road is a mud channel, the outlets having become blocked, and the road choked in many places by fallen timber. The original bush track from Starvation Point to the Saddle was cut on the river bank, and the river encroaching on the land has destroyed it in most places, so that in making a stock road the only old worlf that is available is the road from Matthews' to Starvation Point, which will require to be repaired. J do not think it will be advisable to set out a new line on that section, for although .the preOOTkt lin»..:-— * ■■-" "i» UUlf HOlTTire" ground is for the most part sound and hard, and the funds available will not admit of any more work being done than can be avoided. The two principal obstacles in making a good road on this section are two Jeep gullies or -valleys', which cut. the p>ad ftt • right angles ; going from Matthews' the track runs on a gradually rising table land with the river Ahaura flowing ; in a deep fgorge on the right hand; on reaching the big gully, the traqk descends 409 feet, and then rises again 265 ft on to another table land. In 'a short distance, the second gully is reached, the descent into this is about 100 ft, and ascent on the other side the same height. The track rise* and falls over terraces until the open level land above Starvation Point is reached ; a road would then be made in level bush land to within five miles of the Saddle, with but few crossings of the river, The red line on the sketch map shows the route J would propose. I would recommend the Government to repair the existing track through the Ten-Mile bush, at a cost say LIOOO, a new road to avoid Starvation Point, cost, say LBOO for two miles, and side cutting to ascend saddle say four miles, gradient' one in ten, at L 250 per mile, LIOOO ; as I understand L 3500 is available for the road, the remaining LSOO would be re-, quired for overseers' wages and cost of setting out the work. I would advise the. Government to have the road line surveyed and well pegged throughout; a traverse is merely wanted ; the work should be carefully set out in the places where the contracts are to be let ; but where no work is at present projected I would advise that a survey line should be cut, as. the. dealers, w hen stopped by floods would dp a great deal of wprk themselves in cutting lines or rather- in widening a survey line and removing fallen timber, if they knew it was to be a permanent line of road. They would do this for their own sakes, to let the cattle get into the bush to feed, and also to make a bush track they could use to save sppe-footed gattle the river bed. Should it ever be required to jjet out a dray road, the line from the saddle to the Haupiri would be on the line I propose setting out for a stock road, but rom thence downwards it would be better, I think, either to run along the bot of the hills into the Grey above Mackley's station, and thence to the Main Grey road, or along the south bank of the Ahaura— between the watershed of the Ahaura and Nelson Greek, joining the Grey road near the Ahaura ferry. Either of these lines would avoid the deep valleys in the present track, but it would not be advisable to attempt to open either of these proposed lines with the funds at command, as in any case fifteen or sixteen miles of new road through bush would be required, which could not be made avail- c able for stock at a less cost than L4OO per v mile, or from LQOOO to L 6400. The pre- v sent road through the Ten-Mile bush, if t improved as I propose, will be quite good h for atock driving, and the question of the is best level line from the Haupiri is one a that will be materially affected by the g action of the Government in connection si with the Nelson Creek race. Should that p work be proceeded with, it would bead- tl

visable, in setting out a road, to run it as much as possible through the country the water' would command. From the Haupiri Flat a road cati be-' , set out through level country to join the Christchurch and Hokitika road at the big paddock near Lake Brunner. Unfortunately, having no. other instrument at the J Ahaura, .Xwas, unable to ascertain the height of the saddle above sea level with sufficient accuracy to make it worth while recording it. in. .thia -report, but- 1 .consider, when careful observations are. taken it will be found but little over 3000 ft. From the very small amount of difficult country ,to get through^ and the level' land lying jso close up to .the main range, on either side I consider this line : .to., be the. best for either road or railway to connect the East with the West Coast. Neither the T.eremakau nor Arthur's Pass lines present such facilities for obtaining easy gradients at little cost. ■■■■-;■. •••■■■. ■ Together with this report I. have the honor to forward a sketch map of the Ahaura, showing the proposed line Of road from the saddle to Ahaura. I have, &c, (Signed) A. Dudley Dobson, Acting District Engineer.

HEIGHTS ABOVE HAUPIRI PLAT. Tutaikuri, 284 ft. Foot of saddle, 1610 ft. Top of saddle, 2534 ft. Rise from foot of saddle to summit, by present track, 924 ft. Height of, Haupiri Flat above sea level, not ascertained correctly, probably about 500ft. . -Between Haupiri Flat and the Ahaura, the terraces rise about 409 ft. . : : - :