MAIN MOTOR ROUTE IN JEOPARDY.

Otaki Mail, 2 October 1922, Page 2

MAIN MOTOR ROUTE IN JEOPARDY.

BRIDGES MAY BE CLOSED AT ANY TIME. HUEUWHENUA COUNTY'S problem. lire condition oi tlie bridges in the iouei portion oi tne iioru wlieiiua County have been tire subject oi u good deal oi anxiety to the County Council ot late owing to tne uniun wear and tear tu winch they are being subjected, and tne consequent inability pi tlie Council to meet the heavy expenditure winch will p e netu restore them io a uioiouyhiy sound condition. Situated on the mam highway, the bridges have had to cairy, during recent years, an enormous amount of traffic through the increasing use of the motor, ami particularly the motor lorry, first the cuts in the railway service forced a portion oi tlie goods traffic on to the roads, and when tlie efficiency of the lorry was established it entered into competition with tlie older service, and with success. To-day a regular stream oi these vehicles, carrying heavy Joads, passes o\er tlie roads, and incidentally the bridges, aim whilst the roads only too plainly show the effects of this traffic, it is the

bridges that are being more seriously damaged. The increas.ng burden being thrown on the county in the way ol rebuilding roads and providing maintenance tor roads and bridges i$ such that its resources are becoming seifousiy embarrassed, so much so that it has had to appeal to tlie Government lor assistance lo place its bridges in a. serviceable slate. The position regarding tlie bridges w : ,s considered ol such moment that a deputation irom tlie Council recently waited upon the Minister of Public M orks and asked lor a Government giant, but tiie best the Department lias been able to do up to the present, is to send up an engineer to make a report on their condition. Meantime the bridges, which comprise those over the Ohau, Waikawa and otaki Rivers, and the Waitohu stream, are going from bad to worse, and it is only a question of a short time when the structure at Ohau must

be closed. Its decking is in very bad order, and a heavy lorry is likely to smash through some of the planking at any moment. When this occurs there is no option hut to close the hiidge, which will disorganise the traffic throughout the West Coast of this Island, because only a difficult ford can be provided over this river, and heavy ;oad traffic will have to be diverted to the other coast or slopped altogether. The position is therefore a serious one, and demands the earliest attention. TWO NEW BRIDGES WANTED "J.u-'.l JlUXUliil-.lllCS

emuu Hllu UicUvi nii.ugc.-5 aie ~i, , tip me exception oi a gcncim ugin eniiig up ana repairs ot a uunur na mlc, ilie Uech.lig oi nutii .-iuiiu., . c,v uiucn in neeu oi renewal, nut m un case ot the Waikawa aim wanouu. new structures are wanted altogether Ou Saturday a representative of ilu "Mail” accompanied the Count \ Engineer .Mr A , ,v .Vnueisju, un a visit oi inspection, wlnfi tie- c**rj<Ji-ti‘->u oi tne- bridges and then urgent need ol attention was only two apprent. tu me case ol the Ohau bridge some ol tiie original Uuee-ineU decking has iiad to b>: leplaced, and Die gieaier poi Uun ol the balance lias been wom to a thickness ol one and a-bah inches, any of these umbers arc .shattered, and others, owing to ihe eilecis ol water penetrating them, have lost their hbre and durability, with

the exception of a lew new umber?, the whole trail!c sun'ace is badly worn ’ and shattered, and in it? present ..(ate cannot long withstand the heavy ’ crushing weights which it is called upon to bear. As stated, it is not un- '' likely that this bridge will be closed j any day, as tin* Council lias spent ail | the available money upon it and can 1 do no more. The Waikawa bridge requires lenewing altogether. in the building ol tliis structure second-hand steel ' stringers were used. Whilst they were quite adequate tor requitemen's at that time, they are much too light to stand the severe conditions ol these times, whilst, being unsatislactory . Dom other viewpoints. The upstream side of the bridge has dropped from six to eight inches at the northern end, and the whole construc-

tion is weak, it shakes and sway.even with a horse cantering across whilst the ironwork has loosened un der the weight and speed of big lorries. Wait oh u also requires rebuilding Bart ol the decking wa- stripped oil alter the accident on Wednesday. This exposed the stringers underneath .and these timbers, which measure M inches by 3 inches, and are o: rirnu, were found in had condition. The upper portion of these stringers are shattered and decayed, some rou ted to a depth ol live inches, and badly attacked by worm. The decking is done, and the life of the bridge is at an end. The Council proposes Vj renew this bridge, and traffic has been di.erted to a lord alongside*. . We».c.j iioiu underneath, tne condition ol the Oiaiu br.dge oeu soon be

ascertained. Tor structure contains i 3 spans, with 106 planks to the span. An inspection showed as many as 30 planks broken in a single span, the majority of them being recent breaks. The replacements necessary throughout the length of the bridge must be considerable. The effect of these breaks is apparent on the surface of hue bridge, which is asphalted. The shattering of a timber immediatelv causes the asphalt to crack up. and the passing traffic soon scoops out a pot-hole. There are several of these, although the whole surface was tartreated only last year at a cost of £y. BSP AIRS AND P.ENEWALS— £47(». —e „ost of renewing Waikawa and Tthkan impairing Otaki Oaj.ii

| is estimated at £4700, as follows-. 1 Ofaki bridge (repairs) £2OOO ; Waikawa (new bridge) ... £I6OO * Ohau (repairs) £7OO Waitohu (new bridge) £.400 Total £ 47 po From to-day, ' October ff, it is expected that the traffic will increase, as the County Council embargo regulating loads placed upon motor lorries on tlie county roads will lie removed. as tlie period of the embargo —live months— l has come to an end. This is ilie prohibition 1 fiat can be imposed lor the winter months under tlie powers conferred by the Public Works Act. The County, however, have power to control the speed of lorries and weight ol loads crossing their bridges. As regards tlie bridges, it will be seen that. The Couniy Council is right iqi against it. ami although ratepayers and users of the roads might be inconvenienced later on by lutvmg to use die fords in the case of two of Ihe rivers at least, it must lie taken info account that the Council is <p malts tiest in the circumstances, a’«l 11 is not the fault of that body it mailers arc not righted. Government assistance is absolutely necessary, u n-i on the face of it ihe claim for such is well founded and reasonable.