ROAD TO THE PEAK

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 194, 2 September 1937, Page 6

ROAD TO THE PEAK

Completion of Job Starts Next Week EXPENDITURE OF £1700 Completion of the road to The Peak, through Te Mata Park, will commence aext Monday morning. The necessary aiuthorities for this work to be proceeded with have come to hand, and the Hawke's Bay County Council will earry out the supervision of the work on liehalf .of the Te Mata Park Trust Board. The cost involved is in the vicinity of £1700, the greater portion of which is labour costs. "It is not definitely decided as yet whetber the work will be carried out by contract or day labour, but we expect to make a start oue way or the other on Monday^" said Mr W. J. O'Connell, clerk of the Hawke's Bay Oounty Council, this morning, when questioned as to the completiou of this road. "About £1200 of tho* total aa«ount involved is for labour costs," he added, "and this sum is being provided by the Empioyment Promotion lioaru ia accordauce with the agreemeiiT arrived at as the result of receut conferences held with a view to proviuing work for the absorption of men registered as unemployed." The Te Mata Park Trust Board put forward its scheme for completing tho road to the Peak, a distauce of about 70 chains being desired to be formed. ft was agreed that the County Council should carry out the work on behalf of tlie board, and in his report on the work involved, tho engineer, Mr R. Puflett, estimated that there would be about G970 yards of soil and rock to be removed, involving 6921 cuttings and 692*2 fillings. There is a very steep face over the greater portion of the route to be taken, and the cuttings will have to be made in solid pumice and other rock-like formation. At ' present ' the road goes up to a point a little below the Trig Station right on the Peak, but the roadway will have to take a ciTcnitous route to attain this point, as there is a sharp rise in the altitude from about 1200 feet where the road ends at present to 1309 feet at the Trig Station. , The Government subsidy, which is for all labour costs involved in the scheme, has been granted ou the condition that the empioyment of the men is for full time. Tho hours of work will bo 40 a week, and the rate of pay must not be less than the minimum Public Works standard rate of 2/- an hour, or at the award rate. Only registered and eligible men engaged through a Government Eiuploymeut Bureau are to be employed.