STATE HIGHWAY

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 182, 15 May 1939, Page 4

STATE HIGHWAY

GISBORNE—OPOTIKI WORK AT KAITERATAHI NEW RAILWAY RAMP FUTURE WORK OUTLINED Tenders for the bit unionising of 234$ chains of the Gsborne-Opotiki highway have closed and the work of sealing the road .will be commenced shortly. The portion to be sealed is between Ormond and Scott’s corner, beyond the Kaiteratahi township, states the P.B. Herald. The work will mark another .step in the major road construction programme being’ carried out on this route and, when the full undertaking is completed, the road' will offer a maximum of safety to all classes oi traffic. Tar-sealing will not be done on Kaiteratahi. Hill as a considerable amount oi work is to- be carried out here. The railway crossing at the foot of the hill, on the Gisborne side is to be eliminated by means ot an overhead ramp to be erected over the site ot the ■present crossing. Although there is no volume of rail traffic on this line, the crossing is a tricky one and the provision of a ramp will eliminate any possibility cf an accident at this point. Bridge Construction Finished Actual construction on the now concrete bridge at Kaiteratahi is completed, but it. will be some time before the structure is opened as-the work oi making the approaches and 1 fillings has to be finished. This may be delayed to fix in with the tar-sealing operations. Beyond Kaiteratahi the tricky left and right-hand bends on to the bridge at Scott’s Corner are to be eliminated by the erection of a culvert which is at present being laid down. The new road at this point .will, take a gradual sweep from the left-hand bond on the town side of the corner and will rejoin the existing hghway on the To Kaiaka side of the,present wooden bridge. The latter will he eliminated by the new culvert. Future Plans Future plans call for a new road to he cut through Kaitarahi hill from the lailway ramp and to go straight across the paddocks to the righthand side oi the hill, travelling towards the new bridge. The road will run accross the paddocks and rejoin the existing highway near the school.

The bead, on to the old wooden bridge at Kaitaratahi is an acute one for traffic from the Gisborne end', but the proposed new road will take a gradual and slight sweep on to the bridge near the school corner. 'lhe position of the bridge also ensures that the approach from the Te Karak;a end will be a better one than the sharp left-hand turn oil to the old bridge. BITUMEM PAVING HIGHWAY AT MATAWAI RECONSTRUCTION SOON Representations made to .Mr. A. G. Hultquist, M.P., and referred by him to the Minister of Public Works, the Hen. R. Semple, have resulted in an assurance from the Minister that the highway running through the township of Matawai will he reconstructed this season, if possible, and that bitumem sealing will he- undertaken early next season. “Further to my letter to you oi February 28, in connection with the representations made to jou for the sealing of the highway in the Matawai township, 1 have toi advise you that an engineering survey has been completed, which reveals that before any sealing work could economically he undertaken on the existing highway, a considerable amount of metal will be required to build the road up to the correct shape,” states the Minister in a Jotter received by the Bay of Plenty representative. “Proposals for reconstruction are in course of preparation, and it is anticipated that this phase of the work will ho put in hand during the late autumn, following which it is hoped to. carry out the sealing through the township before the advent of dry weather next summer.”