PAVING TAITA SECTION

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12609, 20 November 1926, Page 6

PAVING TAITA SECTION

SETTLEMENT IN PROSPECT COMPLETE MOTOR ROAD TO UPPER HUTT LONG-DRAWN DISCUSSION For a period extending over - two years the question of the true alignment of the Hutt road on the Taita section has been a matter for discussion between the Hutt County Council, the Alain Highways Board, and the City and Suburban Highways Board. From what can be gathered, there is a stretch of nearly two miles of road running northward from the end of the present paving (by Waugh’s nursery) which has had to be omitted from the paving schedule owing to the existing formed road not being exactly in the centre of the road reserve. Many conferences, it appears, have been held but the prospects of getting the Main Highways Board, to agree to the paving of the whole of the formed road for the desired width as a contributing party were, until very recently, somewhat remote. If the road reserve was 24ft wide and the paving was to be 18ft wide, the Main Highways Board will only contribute towards 9fb on each side of the dead centre of the road reserve. If the paving laid down is 12ft on one side and 6ft on the other, the Highways Board attitude has been that it would contribute its quota to the 6ft, but only to 9ft out of the 12ft, owing to the other 3ft being outside the centre of the reserre. UNIQUE CONFERENCE Yesterday the members of tjhe Alain Highways Board left upon their tour of roads and railway crossings in the North Island, and will be away for a fortnight to three weeks. Before the board left there was a rather unique round-table conference on the subject of this two-mile stretch of road, members of the Hutt Cqunty Council, with its chairman, and a representative of the City and Suburban Highways Board meeting the members of the Alain Highways Board. The position was clearly placed before the board, and from wKat can be gathered the board has agreed to have the whole matter reconsidered. It would appear that the difficulty, when viewed on the snot, presented itself in quite a different aspect to members of the Main Highways Board and officials.

Although nothing definite was done, it is understood that there is now a reasonable prospect of the City and Suburban Highways Board being authorised to carry on the good work right through, connecting with the long stretch from Silverstream to past the Upper Hutt. The only improved portion left will be what is known as the gorge, where the slip occurred recently. This is a subject of complete reconstruction in conjunction with the railway line which is to be laid down. This involves the making of a new road and the straightening and diversion of the river.

If all goes well, and the Alain Highways Board, upon its return, acquiesces in the proposal to have the road upon the formed portion, instead of having to make some portion of it to bring the paved portion into the centre, then the local Highways Board will probably be in the happy position of completing the paved road through the Hutt Valley, only excepting that portion at the gorge subject to railway works.