SCENIC HIGHWAY

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 161, 22 March 1939, Page 2

SCENIC HIGHWAY

COAST ROUTE TO GISBORNE. AN ALL-WEATHER ROAD MUCH-IMPROVED ■ PROSPECT PROGRESS OF BRIDGE WORK The prospects of the Coast scenic road connecting Gisborne and Opotiki becoming an all-weather route have been greatly improved as a result of. the excellent progress that- has been, made in recent months in the bridging of the many streams- that are a feature of . the- route. If the present rate of- ? activity is maintained* it is probable that before iiext Christmas most, if not' all, of the obstacles on the rood will have been removed. When the Minister of Public Works,, the Hon. R. Semple, made'an inspection of this highway less than two years ago, there were no fewer than. 15 open water crossings between. Opotiki and Gape Runaway of sufficient size to impede traffic in the event- of mare than moderate rainfall. To-day there are of these crossings remaining, and e-f thtgjj’six, contracts have been, let for the fhidging of three and -plans have been prepared for the remainder. ...- . . f Unexpected Delays. . Between Cape Runaway and - Hicks Bay there lias not been the same de-. gree .of progress, unexpected delays uWith the AYhangaparaoa bridge, ’ the absence of contractors in the district, and the shortage of labour having? created unforeseen difficulties; It is now hoped, however, that the- AVhahgaparaoa bridge, which is over. 309 ft. long, win be completed by the end of nexij month, and if a suggestion is adopted to use spans from the old Uawa, River bridge for some of the other streams on this section, the worst crossings should •be eliminated in a comparatively short time. The largest bridge on the whole road, the Raukokore, over 600 ft. long, lias been under construction tor more than two years, but the work lias been subjected ty. many delays and it is only no>y that the end is fn sight-. It is hoped that the bridge aI- : so will be completed! and open for traffic’ by the end of April. The fact, that this will be 18 months after the expiry of the original contract date for the completion _of the work gives seme indication of the delay that has occurred!. , . Completed Bridges. Between the Raukokore aiul Opotiki four other bridges have ■ been completed in recent weeks and, in addition, two fords neaiE the TO Kali a School have been eliminated. r The' AVaikanae and Pufeimitahuri bridges, near the Te Kaha' butter factory, were completed at the .end of January and are now open to traffic. The Bakaramii bridge, two miles beyond Te Kalia, was completed!- on ; February 28 and the! approaches will lie completed by the end of this month. In the meantime the Kereu low-level bridge has been restored, this work, consisting of raising what wa-s left of the old bridge and using a steel truss spare from the cici Uawa bridge to- replace the spans that were washed away. Contracts have now been let to the one contractor for the AAYiikawa, Maraeliako and Te ' AA'ai-iti bridges, 52 r 56 and 59.} miles respectively from Opotiki. AVork lias started on the AYaikawa, piles have been made for the-sec-bud, and! the steel is on hand for the third. It is -expected that these three bridges will be completed by the eiu'( of June. This will leave only three crossings between Opotiki and Cape Runaway, the remaining, •ones being the- Waiokalia, Taiiranga and Mangatoetoe, for which tenders, will be called in the near future in. the expectation that the last- stream will be bridged before Christmas. Whangaparaoa Bridge. No work has been done at the other end of the read with the exception of that on the AA'hangaparaoa bridge at Cape Runaway. This work was started at the end off 1&38, but was seriously delayed, -tilrough - Hood damage. Now, however, three of the six spans luive been completed, tlie next pier has been finished, , and piles are being -driven for the last one, tlie abutment oiy’-the'-other side of tlie river being all ready to- take the final span. Between the AYhangaparaoa and Hicks Bay there-are several other open crossings, the largest being the

Owe tea River, hut this presents less difficulty to traffic than .some of the smaller,' but deeper, ones. The worst stream is the Mangatutu. for which plans have been prepared for some time, the necessary funds voted, and the material procured. It has not been possible, however, to secure either contractors or labour for the work so that the start lias been delayed. In the meantime surveys have been completed for all the’ other streams, but no. progress has been possible owing to the shortage of skilled labour. It has now been suggested that four of these streams could be bridged effectively by using the remaining spans from the old Uawa River bridge, which have been lying idle since the structure was dismantled. r J hose -spans, for which there is no other practical use in the district., while possibly not. ideal for modern bridges, would go a long way towards solving the probems on the length of road beyond Hicks Bay and would make a valuable contribution to the aim of making the Coast scenic highway an all-weather route.