PALMERSTON TO EWEBURN ROAD

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 180, 16 August 1872, Page 6

PALMERSTON TO EWEBURN ROAD

Report on proposed Deviation at the . ' HouxDBURy Hill.

Boads and Works Department, Dunedin, Bth May, 1872. To the Secretary for "Works. Sis, —In compliance with Memo, of 18th October, 1871,1 have now the honor to report upen the subject of the proposed deviation of the m*jin read—"Palmerston to Eweburn " —at the Houndbnrn Hill, as referred to in the Memorial of the inhabitants of the ISaseby portion of the Mount Ida District. For the purpose of enabling me to form a correct judgment upon the several engineering points involved, I went over the ground carefully in December last, and have now shown the various routes upon the accompanying tracing of the locality, a reference to which will clearly show the relative merits of the lines under exami-

nation. The Memorial referred to sets forth that the distance between Dunedin and Cromwell can be materially shortened by a deviation of the present track, leaving it at.the position formerly occupied by the Shag Yalley Company's fluming (marked A on tracing) and going through the town of Kascby; that such deviation would save at least six miles in distance, which may be reckoned equal to ten or twelve, when the avoidance of serious and dangerous obstacles to traffic upon the present line are considered ; that, while no vested - interests would be wronged, an important boon would be conferred upon Kaseby, by causing all the traffic to pass through it, and that all the up-country districts would equally participate with it; and, finally, that the track recommended by the Memorialists is preferable to that favorably reported upon by the District Engineer, in so far as the latter, though avoiding the "serious and dangerous obstacle" of the Houndbnrn Hill, would not possess the , advantages to the Memoriali of bringing the traffic through their town, of shortening the distance, or lessening the expenses of carriage. That a deviation which would avoid the present steep and tortuous track upon the Houndburn Hill would have the effect of facilitating the- interior traffic to an almost incalculable amount there can be no doubt . —-the whole question which requires examination being as to which of at least two lines would be preferable, and the most advantageous in promoting easy transit between the coast and the interior Goldfields, and it is to this point which I shall first direct your attention, and afterwards consider the local bearing of the rival lin*»s.

Upon all the routes —viz., present and proposed ones—there are two points common, which are indicated upon tracing by the letters A and B, and the distances between these are as follow: . •' m MILES. Present direct interior road (colored red) ~ 22 Do., via Naseby (red and dotted red) ...- ... * 25 Memorialists' line (yellow, brown, and dotted red) ... ... 23 Engineer's line (yellow, green, and red) ... ... 22 It will thus be seen that, as regards the through trade, the Memorialists' lino is actually one mile longer than the present one, which is taken by the majority of waggons—indeed, I may say by all who have not loading for the town of Kaseby while the District Engineer's line woitld be the same length, though both of these possess the material advantage of avoidance of the lioundbum Hill. It will be observed that the portions colored yellow is common to these two lines, so that the mile saved- in the one case is upon that part between C - and B of the tracing—-

amounting to seventeen miles of the green] and red line..

Tke question, however, is not merely one of distance,; but as to whether the interior trade must he forced through s ISaseby by a route high in altitude, expensive to-makc and maintain, rather than be allowed to traverse a portion of country comparatively low, and generally favorable to road formation. After the formation of the 3-ellow portion there would, upon the green portion, be very littb work to be done, the whole distance to be traversed until the present road was J joined being only four and a quarter miles, ! and the only works of any consequence ; required at present being the formation of fords at the Swineburn and Kyeburn, the remaining parts being along dry terraces presenting no natural difficulties whatever. The case would be different were the Memorialists' line adopted, there being a total distance of nine miles before reaching the present road near Naseby, which runs across the water courses from the Kakanui mountains, and passing through, in many places, swampy flats, quite unfit for traffic until metalled, while the Swineburn and Kyeburn would require crossings as in the other line under. consideration. Moreover, the Memorialists' line would cause all the interior traffic to climb'abruptly to a height of 2000 feet above, the sea, whereas the other would lead it gradually to a height not exceeding ISOO feet at the furthest interior point li. The question is, therefore, narrowed into this : "Whether the formation of ihe yellow line at a cost of probably £I2OO or £ISOO, including the metalling of the worst parts, the short green portion is to be rendered fit for traffic at a probable cost not exceeding £IOO, and thus complete the through road upon the shorter and lower route.; or leave this comparatively easy line and undertake the formation of nine miles through wet. swampy, and high couutry, diverting the bulk of the up-country traffic from the direct route, and at a cost of not less than £3OOO in the first formation before even a single waggon could go along in ordinary showery weather ? I have no hesitation in pronouncing in favor of the cheaper) shorter, and lower roa:l, and the more so that it is quite within the of present appropriations of the public money to accomplish. If the line I have recommended were likely to be a worse one for the travellers to or from Nascby \han the one prayed for by the Memorialists, it might be necessary to complicate the enquiry by the question as to how far the main road should be "deviated from its best natural course in justice to general interests in order to better accommodate local interests of undoubted importance, but I am persuaded that the line I would advise to be adopted is much to be preferred to the other, even in the point of local convenience alone ; for, after leaving point C, as already explained, the Memorialists' line would pass through swampy undulating country, whereas the branch from the new road would be the same as that from the present one, and would traverse one long leading ridge without a creek cross-' ing from the time it leaves the main road until arrived at Naseby, so that there can be no doubt that the advantage in ground and levels would more than compensate for the mile and a-half of additional distance.

The green line possesses a further advantage over the brown in this —that by it the main road would be favorably situated for tragic going to Hamilton or the Upper Taieri, vrhereas by the other such would either have to make a long high circuit close upon IVaseby or come aloriothe present difficult track. • Having now considered the whole matter as regards probable cost of construe-

tioii and nature-of road when formed, J ' have no hesitation in, advising the adoption' of the line recommended some time ago by the. District Engineer, ami the mere so as it will be so places! as to aiTord a better line of side communication both with Naseby and tlie country'lying towards Hamilton, the Taieri. Lake,, and Upper Taieri, than the. line preferred by the Memorialists. I have the honor to be, Sir, ■ Yaur obedient servant, ■'(Signed) G-. M. Babe, C.E., ' Engineer "Roads and Works.