King Country Chronicle Wednesday, April 8th, 1914 THE MAIN ROAD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 658, 8 April 1914, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Wednesday, April Bth, 1914 THE MAIN ROAD.

Work on thß Te Kuiti-Awakino road has been carried on to advantage during the fine weather and many o! the bad places have been repaired under the direction of the Public Works Department. It is to be sincerely hoped that sufficient worK will be accomplished to carry the traffic between Te Kuiti and Pio Pio through the winter, otherwise the benefit of what has already been done will be minimised. The Department is to be commended for its action in undertaking the work in question at a time when the local authorities interested were without funds to carry out a scheme of any dimensions. There is no doubt that had the Government not accepted the common-sense recommendation of the County engineer and proceeded with the repair work, instead oil handing the money to the County to expend, much valuable time would have been lost, and considerably less money would have been available for actual metalling by the time a contractor could have got his plant and teams into work. With the road placed in a fair Btate of repair this eeason an opportunity is afforded the local bodies interested of undertaking a proper, comprehensive, scheme for the permanent improvement and maintenance of this important thoroughfare. That prompt action is essential should be apparent from the history of the season just closing. The County Council, as representative of the settlers of an important district, should not be placed in a helpless position in respect to. the upkeep of the road. It ha& been demonstrated that in order to provide adequately for the maintenance of the road in question a comprehensive scheme is imperative. The contention that the Government Bhould accept the responsibility for the read is entirely beside the mark. Without entering into the merits of that phase of the subject it must surely be apparent to all that the taking over of one main thoroughfare mast form part of a general policy measure necessitating the taking over of main roads in general. If the Government promoted such a policy measure during the coming session, which i 3 extremely unlikely, it i is doubtful if such a Bill would be passed in face of the opposition to the proposal made at the County Council's conference. In any ca3e delay is dangerous, and in the interests of the whole district the local authorities should at least place themselves in a position to meet any occasion. The occasion which is bound to arise is the same which arose during the present season in the shape of the urgent necessity for repair Work to prevent the road from becoming impassable. No argument, or opposition to the County Council action, can prevent the road wearing out, and the question of upkeep is of sut-h vital importance to the whole district that comprehensive action cannot b3 delayed without jeopardising the prosperity of a large section of the communitv.