The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JULY 18th, 1925. TAR-SEALING ROADS.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 July 1925, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, JULY 18th, 1925. TAR-SEALING ROADS.

Takaxaki is considered the home oi tar-sealing methods. Although Wellington City has been engaged in extensive and costly Schemes of tarsealing it was thought advisable lately for an important delegation representing the city and suburban authorities to visit Wanganui and Taranaki ami glean what was being done. The committee returned a good deal impressed hy their experience. At Wanganui they found that the only form of road was the tarred macadam and the Imlmix sheet asphalt, which seemed tn serve the place very well. They later, in company with Air (!ibl»s, county chairman, inspected a stretch of road in the Pa ton county that was being treated hv the penetration method. The road was first of all levelled and rolled, then it was given about five inches of good clean 1J to 2ineh metal, and over this hot tar was run in, and while the tar was still warm the whole mass was blinded with metal chips and rolled into a solid body. In company with the local road engineers, the delegation inspected the tar-sealed roads in and around Hawcra. all of which appeared to ho in excellent order. Near Eltlinm they (in company with Air Belcher, Eltham country chairman), diverged from the main road to visit a hack road which had l>eon tar-sealed sixteen years ago- The road seemed to most of them to ho as good as ever it was—it was as good a road as one could wish. A visit was also paid to Inglewood. New Plymouth and Opttnake. Air Bennett, one of the delegation, said the trip was well worth while, and should not h without benefit to the roads of Wellington city and district. Taranaki has certainly something to show the rest of New Zealand. The visit would not alter their policy respecting the heavy traffic roads, hut might mean overhauling it in regard to roads that were or.lv asked to carry ft modern tc\

amount of traffic, and residential •streets. Mr Bennett added that personally lie was particularly struck with the way the main road from Wanganui to Hawera was standing up to the demands of heavy traffic. There wore ten-ton trucks running over this road daily, and it did not seem to him that they were affecting the surface to any appreciable extent. Mr K. I-like (another member of the delegation) stated that the trip had heeai the most strenuous time he had experienced since his war experience in France. The delegates had been going hard till day, and conferences with the varion? engineers and mayors had kept them up late every night. On the way back he had diverged from the main road to visit Kairanga county, where a good deal of tar-sealing had been done and front the engineer of that county he had been able to gather much valuable data. He considered that the roads scaled in that district were equal, if not superior, to anything they had seen in Taranaki, and the road from Kaira.nga county into ’Palmprxton North was the best they had travelled over during the week.