TE KUITI IMPROVEMENTS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 506, 5 October 1912, Page 6

TE KUITI IMPROVEMENTS.

PROPOSED NEW LOAN. REPORT BY ENGINEER. "In connection with the proposal to raise a loan for street and other pur poses I submit herewith estimates of the cost of carrying out the most needed works in tha borough. I would point out that these estimates are approximate owing to the short time at my disposal since taking over the duties of the office. Still as the class of work to be done on tha suburban roads is all of a similar nature, and the formation work is to a great exten!; done, the money allocated will be sufficient to carry out the proposals outlined herein. Previous to the commencement of any work, detail piann and estimates will be got out and the permanent levels of the various streets fixed. The town being a practically new one and the roads only recently formed, in order to make and complete them in a permanent manner, very considerale amount of money must of necessity be expended. To put permanent work down throughout the existing dedicated streets and carry out the other necessary works would involve an expenditure of over £Bu,ooo, which is quite beyond the means of the town at present. At the same time a policy putting down permanent work, particularly on the formation of carriage ways, should be adopted. Wherever heavy traffic has to be dealt with, in order to make a permanent and satisfactory work of the carriage way proper foundation must first be laid down. It is a mistaken policy to merely spread broken metal on the natural formation, especially of such a nature aB that to be dealt with in this neighbourhood. The foundation of a road is its most essential part, the outer surface (or broken stone coating) being merely ajcovering to protect the actual working road underneath. The road metal is therefore to take the "wear" and (he foundation to carry the "weight" of the traffic. A roadway with a proper foundation composed of handpacked boulders is of .necessity more expensive than a roadway formed with broken metal only, but is much cheaper in the long run. A road formed with bruken stone alone will take some years to put in anything like satisfactory order, and will require a very considerable annual expenditure in remetallng to bring it to an even imperfectly consolidated condition. In face of these conditions I would strongly recommend that all road works carried out under the loan proposals be of a permanent character. With a view to obtaining this I hav« allowed for constructing Rora street in the following manner: — On the eastern side a footpath to be —finished in asphalt and having a width of 18 feet, the outer edge of the path is formed with a cuncrete kerb and channel, the width of the carriageway is 40 feet and is formed with a hand packed foundation to be rolled and consolidated previous to the broken metal being laid. The western side of the road a width of 41 feet to be levelled and finished in grass as shown on the sketch plan submitted herewith.

King street, east ol Rora street, being of a width of 99 feet, I have treated in a similar manner, save that here the grass plot is placed in the centre of the street, 20 foot roadways being allowed on either side. By carrying out the construction of these two streets in this manner a great saving will be effected, and the town will be considerably beautified.

Taupiri and Sheridan streets being two of the principal thoroughfares of the town I have allowed for putting them in to complete order with two 12 foot asphalt paths, concrete kerb and channelling and,a 42 foot metalled carriageway. The above-mentioned are the first streets requiring attention and should be put in hand as early as possible. If carried out in the manner proposed it would be beneficial to the borough, strangers and possible settlers immediately gaining a favourable opinion of the place and of its bright prospects. A coating of tar brushed over the surface of the above mentioned streets would be very beneficial, assisting to preserve the road surface and very materially assisting to allay the dust nuisance.

Dealing with suburban roads the width being 66 feet I would recommend they be formed with two 10 foot paths, a 24 foot metalled carriage way and two 11 foot grass edgings between the path and tbe kerb. As it will be impossible under this proposed loan to carry out the whole of the requisite works on these roads and complete them permanently I would suggest the construction of a 14 foot carriageway and one 10 foot path. The path finished with a top dressing of river gravel well rolled and later when thoroughly consolidated given a coating of tar and sand. This method of only doing a portion of any road is not one I care to advocate but under the circumstances that exist here i.e. roads merely formed with no metalling, gravelled path, or other means for residents to get necessary goods to their homes during wet seasons; and further the impossibility of raising a sufficient sum of money to complete the whole on a permanent basis I seß no other way out of the difficulty. In addition to the above I include in the estimates the sum of £750 for the purpose of putting down footpaths where required in the streets not allowed for. It will be noticed that only the main suburban roads are provided for, the smaller cross roads being omitted as access can be obtained from those included. Provision is made for surface water drainage to deal with Rora, Taupiri, King and Sheridan streets.

An additional bridge spanning the river at Sheridan street is provided for. The question of the material to be used in its construction will be fully gone into when preparing plans, etc., although with the present price of timber and the uncertainty of the quality,' it will probably prove desirable to erect in concrete. '

Another work of great importance is that of preventing the further encroachment of the river at the junction of Rora street and the Waiteti road. To do this effectively I would recommend the diversion of the river as shown on the sketch plan submitted, and further I would suggest that immediate steps be taken to acquire the necessary land for the purpose. The piece of land between tne road and the diversion can then be filled in with builders' rubbish, spoil from roads and such like material. The place thus reclaimed would eventually become valuable building qites the revenue derivable from them repaying the cost of the work.

A sum of £2OOO is allowed for extensions to the water reticulation system. In connection with this I would recommend that all future extensions be carried out with the Mannesman Weldless Steel Tube. The initial cost is a little more than the pipes at present in use, stiil much more satisfactory results will be obtained, and the cost of maintenance very materially reduced.

The sum of £ISOO is set aside for the proposed impounding dam for the water supply. This amount should be* ample to erect a dam sufficiently high to conserve a supply requisite for the needs of the borough for some years to come in the driest of seasons. Previous to any works being carried out very careful investigations will have to be made of the surrounding country. I propose to obtain at as early a date as possible, data with regard to the foundations and the amount of water that can be impounded, etc. Other items included are £2OOO for extensions to sewers in Seddon, Carroll, King, Rata and Jennings streets, also £IOOO for • assistance towards private connections to the sewerage system this latter amount being recoverable Tarring surface of main streets £350. For the neces sary plant, shed, etc. for asphalt making arid laying, tar spreading and street cleansing the sum of £SOO is provided. The asphalt plant would be utilised in conjunction with the crushing plant. The sum of £2500 is still available under the existing loan. I have endeavoured to find the allocations for each item under that loan, but have not been able to find it up to the present. My intention was to prepare a statement of the balance of these allocations showing the extra amount required to complete in accordance with the proposals contained therein. Not having the necessary information to hand in time fur this report I have not therefore taken this amount into account.

In conclusion I would point out that if the provisions of the borough bylaws are adhered toi the sum of about £1365 will be recoverable from the owners of properties fronting on Rora, Taupiri, King and Sheridan streets, it being half the estimated cost of asphalting footpaths and laying kerbing and channelling. The by-law referred to is clause 15, part 4. Where so many works are requisite to put a town into proper order, it is a difficult matter to say which are the most urgent. I have, however, endeavoured to deal with those that are essential for the welfare of the community, also endeavouring to keep the amount within the means of the ratepayers. Trusting the proposals embodied herein will meet with your approval.—S. B. DODGE, Borough Engineer.

Amount Amount a Nature of Work under under o old loan new loan H £ £ £ Rora Street' Formation 200 2800 3000 Taupiri Street. „ 300 2600 2900 King Street „ 100 780 880 Sheridan Street „ 80 520 600 George Street „ 100 200 300 Duke Street „ Ward Street „ 70 250 320 Hill Street „ 100 580 680 King Street West „ 420 140 560 Queen Street „ 80 280 360 Seddon Street „ 100 180 280 Hinerangi Street „ Alexandra Street „ Carroll Street „ Footpath Awakino Rd. Dam at Water Supply Intake ... Extensions of Water Mains Surface Water Drains King & Sheridan Sts. River Diversion Junction Rora St. & Waiteti Road Bridge over river Sheridan Street Footpaths where required Extensions of Sewerage System K ... ... Plant for A'sphalte making Shed, Street Cleansing Appliances etc Tarring Main Streets... Surface Water Drainage Rimu Street ... ... £1550 18840 20390 Contingencies, Interest, 1 Engineering ... 2160 2160 £2IOOO 22550

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