HORAHIA RIDING ROADS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4774, 10 November 1924, Page 4

HORAHIA RIDING ROADS.

REVISER ESTIMATES. ENGINEER’S SUGGESTIONS. Matters in connection with the Horahia riding loading scheme were discussed by Messi’s A. H. Rogers, W. McDuff, and J. McKerchar (delegates appointed by the settlers to ascertain the position) with the county chairman, the riding member, the county engineer, and the county cleik at Ngatea on Wednesday morning. Mi; Rogers istated that the ratepayers of the riding had expressed the opinion at a very representative meeting that during the preseift lean time it wouild be advisable to defer the bitumen roading scheme. It was understood that the county engineer had gone into the question and had piepared new estimates. The committee desired to ascertain all the information possible, and would deem it a great favour if the county chairman, riding member, engineer, and cleik would be present at a furtner meeting of ratepayers. Mr McDuff pointed out that it was not desired to prevent the metalling of Hamilton's Road. the county chairman isaid that Hamilton’s Road coiild now be metalled very cheaply. He was of the opinion that Piako Road should be bituminised as it was in such a bad state and carried so much traffic that it could not be maintained out. of rates. Mr Walton said it should be decided whether the riding proposal should be wiped out afltogether o” modified. Mr Rogers said it was not desired at the present time to wipe the scheme out altogether.

The county engineer gave the estimates under which the loan had been authorised and made suggestions foi the expenditure of the loan to give a reasonable job for the .amount available. On Piako Road two coats of metal 12ft wide and 9in deep had been specified, and the sum available was £5380. The suggestion was one coat 12ft by sin, costing £5070. Two coats of metal 12ft by Tin were stipulated for Orchard East Road, aiud the amount was £7620. The suggestion was to make that portion from the Ngatea bridge to Parry’s corner up tc main highways standard, so that it would contribute half the cost (£4500) and the remaining 142 chains to Hamilton’s Road 12ft wide by sin deep, costing £4337. The sum of £11,270 was available in .the loan for the Kerepeehi-Kopuarahi road, and two courses of metal totalling 12ft by Bin had been specified. The suggestion was that that portion from Parry s corner to the Kerepeehi riding boundary be built up to main highways standard for £2600, and the 262 chains to the Kopuaraln riding

have one coat sin deep and 12ft wide, costing £7992. For Horahia Road, instead of one coat 6in deep, costing £1660, put one coat sin deep at a cost of £2316. On Hamilton’s Road the proposal was to have two co,ats of metal totalling 10ft wide and 9,in deep for the half share of which £650 had been provided. Under the revised estimate the half share would be £BOO. Summarised, the position was Piako Road, loan, of £5380, new proposal £5070 ; Orchard East Road, £7620, £8837; Kerepeehi-Kopuarahi Road, £11,270, £10,592 ; Horahia Road, £ll6O, £23|6 ; Hamilton’s Road, £650, £BOO. Totals ’. Loans, £26,580 ; new proposals £26,815. For immediate expenditure the engineer said he would suggest that loan money be utilised for: Piako Road, 170 chains, £5070 ; Orchard East main highway, 132 chains, £4500; Kerepeehi-Kopuarahi main highway, 78 chains, £2600; Hamilton’s Road, 45 chains, £BOO ; first year’s interest, £9OO ; total, £13,870. To pay the interest on this-amount of lo.an a special rate of iy 2 dt would be necessary. The balance of the roads in the loan proposals which it was considered could be maintained for some years at an annual cost of £1 per chain were: Orchard East, 140 chains; Kerepeehi-Kopuarahi, 262 chains; Horahia, 90 chains : total, -‘92 chains. To provide an annual sum of, say, £5OO for maintaining these road a general rate of 2%d would be required. an increase of %d on. the present rate.

There was a limit to the time which a macadam road would last*even with proper maintenance, said the engineer. Bitumen sealing would cost £lOOO a mile, and the road would then not require any maintenance whatever for 10 or 15 years. The interest on the £lOOO would be £7O a year. Thus, if the roads were bitumen sealed the interest would be £7O a mile. For up to 10 years this num would provide adequate maintenance on all, the red roads, but not on Piako Road, which had now deteriorated to suc.ti an extent that it would require more chan a penny rate over the whole riding to put it in order. Thus there would be no funds available to maintain the rest of the roads in t|ie riding. The amount of metal required for Piako Road would cost, almost as much as the completed bitumen road, ami h. a very short time the cost < 1' maintenance would be more, annually, than the interest on the additional sum required to bitumen seal the road. In reply to Mr Rogers the county clerk said that if none of the loan was rasied the authority would lapse in five years, whereas if a portion was raised the remainder could be lifted at any time. There was nothing to prevent a macadam road being laid down if there were insufficient funds available to complete it as a bituminous road. The engineer said he did not think it necessary to bitumen seal Hamilton’s or Horahia roads. The maintenance required owing to the small amount of traffic would cost lesti titan the interest on the extra cost bituminous work. Cr. Hayward agreed, and expressed the opinion that if Piako Road • and the main highway were bitumen sealed and the increased general rate for maintenance purposes spread over the whole riding, the settlers would be satisfied. The work would not be completed for some time, and it would be yeai)s before the whole loan rale would have to be collected. The representatives of the ratepayers then thanked the councillors and the council staff for the information given, and invited them to be present at a meeting of ratepayers on Saturday next. This was agreed to.