A SLIPPING ROAD.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5237, 10 February 1928, Page 4

A SLIPPING ROAD.

BAD COUNTRY ON THE PLAIN Si PROBLEM FOR THE DEPARTMENT. An interesting work is now being undertaken by* the Lands Drainage Department op the river stop-bank road between the Torehape Road cornier and the Kaihere landing, near Mr Stitchbury’s farm. Owing to the rotten nature of the country the stopbank has slipped into the river on three occasions, and it hasj been found that the driving of piles and the other usual methods of holding up banks have been of no -use at this place. For about ten chains, practically all the roadway has gonle. Insufficient land was reserved by the department along the riverbank, and thus it is now impossible to make the road anywhere but on the stopbank. Likewise, it is impossible; to get spoil except by carting fr°m a distance or by dredging from' the river that which has previously slipped. As dredging has -proved useless and the cost of carting .would be prohibitive, thq lands drainage engineer, Mr E. Taylor, conceived the idea of obtaining spoil from the other side of the river and evolved a method of shifting it which is proving very satisfactory. A movable steam winch is utilised to haul the buckqt of a Bucyrus drag-line dredge, fitted with extra' long ropes, across the bed of the river. The dredge driver then manipulates his machine so that the bucket is) filled, dragged under the river, and emptied where required. The whole operation takes two minutes, .and a cubic yard of spoil is dumped on the roadway, while spoil is,brought along with the’bucket and left on the toe of, the slip, thereby strengthening it. , The operation will undoubtedly be costly, but in view of' the circumstances it appears to be the only method o£ making the road ready for metalling next summer. >