HAURAKI PLAINS COUNTY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXII, Issue 4317, 14 September 1921, Page 2

HAURAKI PLAINS COUNTY

ENGINEER’S REPORT. The following report was presented by Mr R. J. Dillon, county engineer, .at the September meeting jpf the Hauraki Plains County Council, held at Ngatea on Monday :

WHAREPOA FERRY.

The new timber and ironwork for the alterations and lengthening of the tailboards of the punt at the Wharepoa ferry came to hand during the month and the work has fiben carried out without the interruption of traffic. The boards are now ten feet Ipng, and a decided improvement on the old ones, which were in use for many years. The stockyards attached to the ferry having fallen into disrepair, are now being renovated, Mr Clare, of Ngatea, carrying out the work in a satisfactory manner. WILSON’S ROAD. The ditch on the western side of Wilson’s Road, Netherton, has beeh completed-by Johansen Bros. At pne portion sand was met with near the bpttom, and the ditch is failing jn somewhat, but it wifi be stayed up and made secure.

The old ditch on the lower end of the , road requires cleaning out and deepening at an early ’date, so that the excavated material can be drawn into the centre of the new formation by the grader., - HIKUTAiA QUARRY. The work of cutting intq the hillside at thp Hikutaia. quarry, for the new , hopper is being carried put by three men employed there, and it siiould be completed in about a fortnight’s time, and then the plant would be ready to commence crushing operations again. The three punts are n the river at Netherton, but so far nothing has been done x in the matter of Hikutaia creek. If the metalling operations on an extensive scale are completed this summer this matter should be piit in hand at once. PREPARATION OF PLANS. - " A good deal, of time has been spent in the preparation of . plans fpr new works.. Those for Wilson’s RoaJ, of a length of 137 chains', the .Tahuna

main road, 61 chains/and the landing road, Tahuna, 53 . chaifis, J are just completed. Plans for the Hoe f -o-tainui Road and the Ngarua bridge are in preparation , and will be available in a fortnight’s t-imb. Then a number of the specifications for the metalling jo.bs will be put through.. Without these plans and specifications, of course, the Government subsidies are not available, so I am pushing on the office work as fast as possible. • • - METAL AT WHAREPOA. Up to the present' the scowload of shingle for the road near the Wharepoa ferry has not come to hand. We have scraped up a few loads of loose m.etal for the vei;y worst holes, but the road Is far from good.. However, the load of metal should not now be long delayed,’ and as soon as it is available I will have the bad holes filled in by one of the county teams and the road placed in passable order. UNMETALLED ROAD. The unmetalled piece of road between the Kerepeehi corner arid Nether\on has now dried up fairly well. It n? very rough, but metalling operatipns\ which were interrupted by the wejt father could be now resumed if money> an d metal are to be'had for the worK The nearest and best metal is t:hatf\ at trie Hikutaia quarry, and it could.rie delivered’at Carter’s cor—ner if Punts .were brought into... s.ervice. It is very necessary that this piece road should be metalled during this 'gummer, as the inconvenience to the during - the winter is now very giP a tSURFACEMAN TURUA* RIDING. A new.surfaceman, -Mr F. Griffiths, has been' appointed to the Turua riding, and commenced work on August 23 by filling in hoigs and napping . stones on the Huirail Road. From there he will go on pril spread metal near the Wharepoa" ferric- As there are a number of very U a d holes in the Turua-Nethefton Rosd it would be a very good tilling if .'rie could be kept continually employed for a month or two filling these in with metal, especially if it *was broken metal from the Hikutairi quarry or elsewhere. T WORKS CONTEMPLATED. .As all the roads in the county are drying up fast and tnerg are indications of ,a dry summer, Fv ll anxious to prepare for metalliipg yperations. Both your trucks are ijUe'jJriut could be brought into service/,whd’ e required* at once. Some contract will also need to be done* when fionpy is available and quarryfing ojeratibns at TJghuna and Miranda mKrit be commenced during theft comlngTionth. The formation works fet Tahuna could be let by contract, Js the plari are approved.