The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 1930. IMPORTANT VISITS.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 April 1930, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 1930. IMPORTANT VISITS.

The visit of the Main Highways Board last wee if, followed by the tour ot the representatives of the Tourist and Industries Departments, wvre important, in that the occasions gave the opportunity to present the 1 equipments of the district 011 various matters. The members of the Highways Board were in affable mood, due to the County Chairman’s welcome expressed in such genial terms, and the visitors gave very fair consideration to the requests placed before them. Assent was given vo the renewal of the maintenance subsidy for the secondary highways; on the former £2 for £1 basis. The! Council was able to show a good ■ record in regard -to, .the past maintenance, in that the cost was not unreasonable, and iiiie results-of the.expenditure were admirable. T’he Board will!-also, . give favourable consideration to the bridge works asked Tor.on the secondary highways. The , reliance for additional secondary . highways are not so .for the reason- that' the financial resources of the Board are not as great as of yore, and there is a fear 01 a decreasing revenue. The County Council, however, was modest in its demands for additional niaeage, and the roads mentioned, it was explicitly explained, were settlement roads of great service in the productive activities of the settlers. The Council made, also, some useful .recommendations regarding new works on the. main highways. Several bridges are required and : for which ; renewal | votes were asked. Users of the north I highway will know how urgent is the rebuilding of the structures at Three Mile and Stafford, The widening work also urged on the-south highway..should likewise commend 'themselves jf the runds can be provided, There-was an interesting, discussion on the request to -bitumen-surface the main road in from Arahura and out to Kanieri, a total distance of some seven miles. It was stated by Mr Tyndall, -the Board’s Engineer, that the cost of the' work could be calculated at £IOOO per mile for general purposes. In the .Engineer’s opinion, however, he thought Ibe sections of road referred to should 'be widened in the first instance as a preliminary to any sealing work. The two sections of road are the main arteries for traffic going north and south, and are subject to much .general traffic. As it is atrfiresent, they are subject to a of corrugating, which roughens thSßjjtfuce and causes discomfort in travdpflg. The Board suggests grading more often, advice which also was tendered in regard to portions of the Alain Highways in the Borough of Hokitika. It was realised, however, that the highway in the County needed regrading, as at present some parts wore too greatly crowned. The upshot, it would appear, will be more ' attention to the maintenance of the road, and the gradual widening of the routes, preparatory to properly surfacing the road for the class of traffic it lias to carry. This latter must he the ultimate goal, as experience elsewhere shows that the good surfacing of the roads is fully justified. Many parts of New Zealand are being well treated in Mils respect, and as motoring is so much in vogue here, and so great a contribution is made to the public revenue by way of the petrol and motor taxation, it is not unreasonable to ask for and expect a. return in good and better roads. The proposals of the Highways Board to carry through the bridging of the main south road are very satisfactory. This year will see the task well accomplished, and there will then in reality be an all weather road from Otira (••urge via Hokitika to AYelieka. This is not a mean achievement, and the Board is to be congratulated very sincerely on its good work. The ’Westland County Council lias played its part not ungenerously in the whole work, and is to be i oinmcnded for the manner in which the needs of the traffic are kept prominently before the authorities. Westland is well served in these respects.