ROADMAKING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 13 January 1931, Page 2

ROADMAKING

GREATEST INDUSTRY Mr A. Tyndall, engineer to the Main Highways Board, who went to America to attend the International Roads Congress at Washington, D.C., returned to Wellington yesterday by the Monowai from San Francisco. In conversation with a “Post” representative, Mr Tyndall said that in an endeavour to assist the unemployment which was rife in all the S tates °f America, one thousand million dollars had been spent in 1929 in the construction and maintenance of highways. During the present year there was going to be a tremendous increase in the expenditure on all road works, and not only is the Federal Government finding greatly increased sums of money, but the individual States will assist in the construction and improvement of roads. With the additional money that will be provided for the highways the figure will be several hundred millions of dollars more than the amount spent in 1929.

Shortly before Mr Tyndall left America 'thousands of men were put on building, widening, and forming new deviations on the roads in the western States. The highways in America are built on more elaborate lines than those in New Zealand, but generally speaking the quality and class of work which is done in New Zealand compares very favourably with that in the United States.

“At the present time,” said Mr Tyndall, “there seems to be no doubt that road-making and similar work is the greatest industry in the United States.” Mr Tyndall spent about a month in Canada inspecting the roads and the system of working in the various States. After the Congress was finished a number of the representatives of the various countries were invited to make a very extensive tour covering several thousands of miles of roads in the States. The tour, which was most instructive, was organised by a body known as the Highways Education Board, and lasted about seventeen clays.