COUNTY ROADS.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 17 November 1917, Page 4

COUNTY ROADS.

COUNTY METHODS QUESTIONED

! Cr. Catley .stated at Saturday's meeting] of the County Council that a very (inferior class of coal .was ibeimg supplied for use on the road roller, whidh. resulted in a grea|h deal of waste time in getting up steam. Cr. C'aihlcy also said he wished' to impress on tiio ' Council that before tliey could get the best work out of the road roller they would haive Jho remodel their methods of road-making. He had discussed the matter with the driver of the roller and had seen it at work. He was sure that unless they first blinded the metal with good blinding matter, fell liihey would not get value for their money. They could not afford to go for rosults .at any cost or there would be a leakage. The driver of the roller also considered that he should be visited by the Engineer more often in order that ho might be instructed as ho the eoim-'o to bo followed in regard to particular parts of the road!. Cr. Catley I impressed on t'lie Couhcil very strongly Ft that they must go seriously in/to the | matter. it Cr. Monk said that undoubtedly if | they were going to try and roll mota! | into the hard macadam road they would fail. If there was wa'glij'j | enough, the metal would simply be I ground to dust. They must first scarify the roads ibofore putting the metal on. Hie had boon down where the roller was working and the metal was being blindedl with material from the side of the road, but there was not enough of this. If they were going ing to scarify they wailhed crushed toe pit metal, but if they were not goiur gto scarify they .wanted crushed boulders, hard metal. The chairman sai.'d the idea, in obhainihg the machinery was not results at any cost but good 'returns at a less cost than before. One step must be the establishment of a road-building gang under a good foreman. To say that ilhe Engineer was to be. at the beck and call of the driver of the road roller was the most ridiculous tliingr under the sun. He might as well drive ' the roller. He Engineer's function was to lay down the manner in which the work was 'ho be carried out and to see that it was done in that way. He should only have to make a weekly or bi-weekly 'nspection of the work.

Cr. Catley considered the driver of the roller was simply pointing out "hhat a.« they were working at present, they were not getting satisfactory results.

The chairman said the Engineer was the man responsible for the results, and he would Miggeith that Mr Malcolm be asked to bring down a fairly extensive Toport on the whole subject and then the now Council could go into >t.

Eventually on Cr. Murray's motion, seconded by Cr. Catley it was decided: That it be a recommendation tn the incoming Council to formulate a scheme for the proper control and working of the road roller *and other machinery in oonnoction therewith, and lihat in the meantime the County Engineer dowh a report dealing with this matter.