PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 622, 26 November 1913, Page 5

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

AN EXTENSIVE PROGRAMME. INCREASED ROAD VOTE. SUBSIDIES FOR LOANS. The Public Work) Statement was brought down last night by the Hon. W. Fraser, Minister of Public Works. In tabling the Statement the Minister said: — "Owing to the financial position obtaining at the close of laßt session and i in view of the heavy commitments already entered into.p did not"feel justimaking available for immediate expenditure the whole of the new items appearing on the public works estimates. All authorities issued and offers made in pursuance of previous years' appropriations were, however, duly honoured. New votes urgently requiring attention were also authorised on application. As soon as the success of the flotation of the new ]oan was assured ail restrictions re garding expenditure of new votes were removed. Notwithstanding these precautionary measures the total expenditure of the past year on public works was not only in excess of that of the previous year, but was actually th 6 Jargeßt in an? single year for over thirty years, and amounted to the very large' sum of £2,711.06S viz., £2,593,365 out of the Public Works Fund, and allied special accounts, and £117,703 out of the Consolidated Fund. "The rapid increase of settlement necessitates year by year a corresponding increase of road and bridge construction, and the end thereof is not yet in sight. There are still far too many settlers who have had for years past either no access or quite inadequate access to their properties, but the number of these I am pleased to say is diminishing. Ones these arrears have been overtaken it will be a much easier iaak to provide only for the needs of new settlers. RAILWAYS. The total expenditure on railway construction and improvement work during the last financial year amounted to £1,179,077, as under:—Construction of nsw lin«s £684,196, additions to open line? £464 636, Welling-ton-Hutt railway duplication £991, railways improvement account £29,254. STRATORD-MAIN TRUNK. In referring to the Stratford-Main Trunk line the Statement has the following: — "The broken nature of the country to be traversed between Tahora and the Ohura Valley involves examination of several possiDle routes, and careful trial surveys of different suggested lines have been made during the past two or three years. The most favourable route appears to be via The Raekohu streaam, across tha Tangarakau river, then through the Maraekowhai block to the Haeo Valley, and the line will probably be located along this route. "At the eastern end, where construction works were commenced in November, 1911, considerable progress has been made. As the country traversed for the first few milae from the Main Trunk line was not roaded, a service road nearly eight miles in length had first to be made across a broken range of hills. This Has now been completed and metalled. The railway formation is in progress for one mile and a half, and a contract has been let for the construction of the Okahu Tunnel, 74 chains in length, at a cost of £97,000, which also covers the formation of about a mile and half of line in addition to the tunnel. Four small contracts have been let for formation works which will carry the line into the Ohura Valley, six miles from the junction, and it is proposed to let further contracts of similar nature and extent as the work progresses. "The expenditure on this iine during the past financial year amounted to £72,843 at the western end, and £22, 448 at the easiern end. For the current year a total vote of £85,000 is proposed." ROADS AND BRIDGES. The provision made on last year's appropriations for road and bridge works under ail votes and accounts, including the Consolidated Fund vote for maintenance, amounted to £746,950. The total amount authorised for ex- i penditure during the financial year, in- j eluding the unexpended balance of authorities brought forward at the 31st March, 1912, amounted to £845, 248. The total expenditure for the year amounted, however, to only £468,972, leaving an unexpended balance of authorities amounting to £376, 276 at 31st March last. Between the Ist April and 30th September a further £337,378 was authorised, and expenditure to the extent of £231,605 was brought to charge. The large amount of money which has been standing as authorised for expenditure, compared with the actual disbursements, indicates that the temporary restriction placed upon the authorisation of new votes after th* close of last session had but little effect on the expenditure. In my last Statement I expressed the opinion that it was almost impossible, under the existing conditions, to expend within any year the amount of money voted for that year for road and bridge works. The experience gained during the past twelve months has confirmed me in this opinion.^ "Last year I referred to the disinclination of local bodeis to make satisfactory provision for the maintenance of main roads. In localities where the main road passes through unoccupied Crown lands, sparsely settled districts, or native lands, whence little or no revenue in the way of rates can bw collected such a feeling is to a great extent justified. All main roads, however, do not come under tha above category, nor will it be an easy matter to define what constitutes a main road. I hope, however, during the recess to find a satisfactory solution of this problem, as also to the equally abstruse one of improving the

I present method of distributing grants j for roads and bridges. ' Total Appropriations for Roadwork. | —Last years appropriations were as J under: .Roads, etc. £328,275, back- | block roads £201,575, roads on goldI fields £50,600, opening up Crown (lands for Settlement account£loo,ooo. National Endowmentaccount £19,200 new Hutt road £5300, maintenance of roads (Consolidated Fund) £42,000, —total £746,950. The provision for the current year is as under: —Roads, etc £330,000, backblocks roads £2OO, ! 000, roads on goldfields £50,000, opening up Crown lands for Settlement account £IOO,OOO, National Endowment account £22,750, new Hutt road £4OOO, maintenance of roads (Consolidated Fund) £4s,ooo—total £751,750.