HAURAKI PLAINS COUNTY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5225, 11 January 1928, Page 3

HAURAKI PLAINS COUNTY

SUBSIDIARY HIGHWAYS,

ROADS TO BE RECOMMENDED.

A meeting of the Works Committee of the Hauraki Plains County Coun.ci I was held yesterday for the purpose of deciding what roads in the county should bu recommended to the No. 2 District Highways Council for declaration as subsidiary main highways. Or. E. L. Walton presided over Crs. J. A. Reid, J. C. Miller, W. Madgwick, C. Parfitt, and the clerk (Mr E. A. Mahoney) and engineer (Mr F. Basham). Cr. J. C. Miller, the; council’s repre.sentative on the No. 2 District Council, reported that there would be a meeting in Auckland on. January 12 to prepare recommendations to the Main Highways Board fo l r declaration of additional highways consequent on the levying of the petrol.,tax. In - giving directions on this subject the chairman of the Main Highways Board had said :— & “The principle, underlying the Petrol Tax Act was that the assistance which the Highways Board was able to give to local authorities might be spread so as to give the councils greater assistance in the way of maintenance throiugh longer mileage, of roads. “The amount of money available is believed to be sufficient to justify the declaration of a further 50 per cent., or roughly 3000 mikis, for New Zealand. Districts in which there are very short mileage of highways at the present time would naturally receive greater consideration for an increase than those in which the, reverse exists.

“The amount, of money which is available is not at the present time quite definite, and the rate of subsidy can only be determined after the requirement of the entire 3000 miles of extra highway is known and the amount of money available is determiped. It is not expected that the,re . will be, any money for construction, at any rate in the early stages of the new scheme.” y. The chairman was of opinion that the roads to be recommended shoiil.d be: Orongo to Pekapeka Road corner, Orchard'East Road from Parry’s corner to the Turua-Netherton rdad, Kopuarahi-Kerepeehi Road from . Parry’s corner to Kopuarahi School, and Patetonga to. Ngatea. The reasons were that the Orongo-Pekapeka corner road carried a great deal of through traffic, and when the Hauraki bridge was opened, it would undobted- ‘ ly become the .main highway from Paeroa to Thames. The PatetongaNgatea road ?vas also almost a main highway, already, and in addition it was bounded to a great extent by Crown land, which did not produce rates so could not be adequately maintained by the riding. By using this > road to go. to Hamilton from Ngatea a saving of 15 miles was made as compared with going via Paeroa, Te Aroha, and Morrinsville. The roads (►‘from Parry’s corner eastward to the Turua-Netherton road and northward to the AucklandrThames highway at Kopuarahi School also carried a. great deal of through traffic. Thqse recommendations were adopted, and it was decided that should it be possible to secure further roads, that. from Waitakaruru to Miranda on the alternative route to Auckland Jr d the best claim.