Foxton Beach Road

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 24, 29 January 1937, Page 8

Foxton Beach Road

MR SEMPLE WISHES WORK TO BE EXPEDITED

When in Bulls on Tuesday the Minister of Public Works, Hon. R. Semple, sought from representatives of the Manawatu County Council on explanation as to why the Foxton beach road had not been sealed. The Minister commented that it had been considered that the county council would have proceeded with the work now that it had been relieved of financial obligations on main arterial highways. Cr. W. E. Barber (chairman of the county council) informed the Minister that it had found it was not able to divert for this work loan moneys raised for special purposes, but that difficulty had been overcome. It had entered into an agreement with the Foxton Harbour Board for the work to be carried out by loan, but the difficulty had been to secure the services ol a surveying engineer to take out the levels. Nine advertisements had brought two applications asking for £S a week, and when an appointment was made they would be ready to proceed.

The Minister: The hold-up was no fault of ours.

Mr Barber: Nor of ours. We agreed to do the work, and have got this far.

The Minister stated that tho Public Works Department was experiencing the same difficulty. Its designing engineers had been working overtime on plans for tho elimination of railway crossings, and there was a multiplicity of other works to receive attention. This was an aftermath of the depression, and a difficulty similar to the shortage of skilled farm labour. The Government hoped to embark on a comprehensive housing scheme, but anticipated difficulty in securing the necessary carpenters. None had been trained in the last four years, owing to the break-down of tho apprenticeship system. It had robbed industry of its annual supply of new recruits, and few skilled artisans were available.

There seemed to be an impression in the southern end of the county, said Mr Barber, that the council was not going on with the work. It was going on with it, and he wished to clear up the wrong impression.

Mr C. L. Hunter, M.P., stated that the Foxton Harbour Board was prepared, provided the reconstructed road followed the existing route, to put up extensive protective works along the foreshore.

The Minister intimated that if the county council could not secure the services of a suitable engineer, he would endeavour to make one available from Wellington. It is understood that the estimated cost of the Foxton beach road work is £6OOO for tho three miles, and that, as an alternative to going along tho foreshore at the beach end, it may cut across diagonally behind the cottage township there.