The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 1919 TAR V. CONCRETE ROADS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 8, Issue 467, 26 September 1919, Page 2

The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 1919 TAR V. CONCRETE ROADS.

" We nothing extenmu, nor ut doim auaht in malice,."

Highly interesting is the letter which we publish to-day, from the engineer to the Manukati County Council (Mr W. J. Lopdell), in icply to a gratuitous criticism of the Council's loading scheme, by Mr F. Shannon, engineer to the Matamata County Council. In the first place, it is surprising that criticism, unfavourable or the reverse, should come from such a quarter. As Mr Lopdell scathingly but justifiably observes, professional etiquette is not one of Mr Shannon's strong points. To this we may add that as Mr Shannon must have known that this breach of etiquetie would earn him the opprobrium of hisfellow engineers, surely there must be some stronger motive behind his attitude than appears on the surface ? Is he being made a tool of by some disgruntled ratepayer who is too unprogressive and parsimonious to pay for good roads ? or is he merely seeking a little notorieiy ? If not, (hen why this glaring exhibition of bad taste ? But probably the ratepayers of the Manukati County are very humble like the rest of us, and more interested in getting the best possible value for their money than in professional codes of honour. Mr Lopdeil makes a sorry hash of Mr Shannon's figures, shewing that at the lowest estimate concrete roading would cost £4020 a mile for a IS feet road. And as Is feet roads will be required in the main, even this estimate is far below what the actual cost would be, For the Mange re riding it is proposed to borrow £.10,0011, but if concreting were adopted a sum of £U4,7{)O would be required ' How does this appeal to the ratepayers ? However, as the letter we refer to came to hand only this morning-, we have not the time to go into figures, apart from those published, but there are one or two minor factors in favour of tar as against concrete that Mr Lop. dell has apparently not bothered to mention, probably considering them too obvious. Some four years ago every local body in the Dominion and every newspaper were flooded with literature advocating concrete roads. As might be taken for granted, this literature was published by firms having a ver\ special interest in the sale of cement Rightly, from their point of view, they adduced every possible argument to support the incipient movement towards concrete roads. We perused thi, literature, but we a'so read views of opponents of cone ete, and comparatively recently we were able to observe on the spot something of what is being done in England, Ireland, and Scotland in respect to roading materials. Undoubtedly, though there was a time when conctete seemed to bid fair to become paramount, the experience of the older lands has caused it to take second place to various tar compositions, except for heavy and costly foundations, and foundations only—not the actual surface. It has been found that not only is concrete too costly, but that It has certain ineradicable defects. For example, despite various surface dressing and roughing processes, in time the concrete acquires a slippery surface in wet weather, causing danger to traffic, and necessitating continual redressing. Again, it has little or no resiliency, or elasticity, and is ;

hard on horses feel and vehicle springs and joints, even in conntries where level roads obtain. In New Zealand, where winding, as well as undulating roads are the rule, and straight, flat roads the exception, this latter detect is doubly, trebly a detriment, and would also make high motor speeds distinctly dangerous. It is all very well to instance what has been done in America, but we must regard the road concreting in Uncle Sam's country as an experiment which so wealthy and populous a state can afford. Our businefs is to profit by these experiments, and the balance of available evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of the resilieut, tar composition road, as against the non-giving concrete one. Nature has given men and animals heels and limbs that are more or less elastic : the earth's surface in its natural state is elastic, and it we depart from the very plain teaching of Nature, then we shall have tp pay for it in weal and tear of vehicles strain on horseflesh, and a reduction in the margin of safety in travel. But, i as stated above, these are really I minor points, the main factors being the initial cost, and the subsequent one of upkeep. For our part we give the ratepayers credit for the possession of average corauionsense and cool, critical judgment, and we cannot seriously think that Mr Shannon's questionable and uninvited criticism is going to affect the results materially. With confidence we look forward to to-morrow's polling, and expect to see the whole of the loans carried by substantial majorities.