THE GREAT SOUTH ROAD.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 174, 27 February 1914, Page 4

THE GREAT SOUTH ROAD.

And Other Trunk Hiqhwayo Who Should Upkeep Tnem? State Asked To Do It. A conference of representatives of local bodies interested in the upkeep of the Great South and Great North ro;d3 was held at the Auckland City Council chambers on Wednesday afterr.oon. Ths Mayor of Auckland, Mr C. J. Par l- , presided, and amongst o'hers the fallowing delegates were also present Messrs i. 1 . K. Law:ie, Pukekohe bo:ough; Captain I'olbeck, Manukau County Council; W. C. Motion, Franklin County Council; A. Willis, l'apakura Town Board; and representatives of the followirg Kcad lioardj: —W. H. I hoinas, Pjparata; 7. /*. Alexander, Opaheke; J. G. Kutherford, MaangaHwhiri; U. Lyons, l'okeno; W. H. C. Glass.on, Drury.

The chairman, in opening the meeting, said that the object of the conference was to devise some means of placing the future upkeep of main i trunk roads, such as the Great North i ani the Great South roais, on a j proper footing. It was no exaggera- 1 tion to say that Auckland had the | worst main trunk roads in New | Zealan 1, probaoly in Australasia. | The -cause of it was not far to | seek. The Great South road ran i through a sparsely settled district, j which wes under the control of r.o j fewer than about 25 local bodies, whose means were principally re- : quired tor local roads, leaving very little for the main road. The ah- | sencs of a good supply of road metal was another drawback. The | present system of divided control of the Great South road was in itself a weakness. Ha thought that the Government should be asked to undertake half the cost of putting the roads in order and half the cost of maintenance, leaving tne local bodies ar.d those who used the roads to provide the cthtr hall. He was strongly in favour of asking the Government tj take over tbe control of the whole of the main roads, as was done in other countries, tut he thought that this was an undertaking that the Government was not likely to agree to. Mr Sturges, Mayor of Otahuhu, said tuat the Great Scuth road required forming, straightening, gradIrg and installing. The Government and the l.cal bodies interested should take the matter in hard. Ho did not think that the Government would ever take over the whole of the arterial main roads in the Dominion. He maved:—"(l) That a board of commissoners be formed; (2) that the local bodies interested be represented on the board;, (3) that an enginesr, independent of the Government, be appointed to carry out the whola of the work; (i) that the Government be urged to provide the whole of the loan money, and that interest and principal should not exceed 2* par cent.; (5) that the length of road to he dealt with be about 80 miles." He estimated roughly that the work would not exceed £200,000, basing it on a calculation of £2500 per mile. To provide interest and principal at tha rate of 2* per cent, oil a capital outlay of £200,000 would require £SOOO a year, and this could be met Dy a rata of 1-15 th ot a penny in the £. A property worth £IOOO would have to pay only 5s 6d per year. Mr Mannng, Mayor of Hamilton, moved as an amendment, "That this conference alfc'rms the principle that the Governm .nt should take over tne contrcl and upkeep of all main arterial roads." He said that with the advent of the motor-car the local bodies were no longer able to face j ihe task of keeping the road in order, j It was unfair to ask small road I boards to undertake the upkeep of these roads. Ater discussion, Mr Sturges, at tne chairman's suggestion, withdrew • his motion in favour of the amendment, which was then carried unani- ! mously. It was agreed that it would be advisable to defer the questions of details such as were raised in Mr Sturges's nfotion, until the

Government's attitude was known. After a discussion regarding the question of a wheel tax on motorcats it wat decided to set up a committee to place tne views of the conterence before the Prime Minister and the Minister for Public Works. it was stated that the Prime Minister would probably b2 approached on the question on the occasion of his next visit to Auckland early next month.