RURAL ROADING

Hokitika Guardian, 23 November 1932, Page 6

RURAL ROADING

EXPERT COMMITTEE’S RESEARCH

SEARCH FOR ECONOMIC SYSTEM

(Ter Pri'ss Association Copyright.)

WELLINGTON, November 22.

A committee of county clerks, engineers and departmental officers libs been dt work for the past two years attempting to evolve a system of, economy in rural reading. .

Mr, H. F. -Toogood,. of Wellington, convener of the committee, seated yesterday that the form .of wha.t is e3lled hard surfacing of reads i,s obtained by .sealing a metalled surface either with tar or bitumen. The fiyst requirement is that a solid, wellconsolidated road crust should be provided , and it should be able to carry the heaviest loading without movement. On good foundations a crust thickness of 6in. will safely carry motor vehicles of 6.1 tons gross weight •with four wheels; on bad foundations up to l2in. of metal o r more may be required. With the road in question Mr Toogood ■ believes that the average thickness of crust required would not have ©xceeded 9in. and this by a process of maintenance with a subsidy of £3 for £1 oould have been built up while the road surface was being maintained in metal .as circumstances, permitted.

“Th© surfacp of th© consolidated crust,” Mr Toogood continued, “could then have been sealed..-.with two coats •at a total eppt of about £750 per rrjile, oiTid would It hen have had a traffic capacity jof at least 700 to 1030 motor vehicles per day, including 20 per cent, of motor-lorries on pneumatic tires. There are hundreds of miles of such roads in use to-day throughput New •Zealand, and .those who hav© studied the question believe that no better road is required on any main highway in New Zealand outside a radius ot 15 tto 20 males of any of the four chief cities, or where the traffic is not in excess of 1000 motor vehicles per day.”