COUNTY ROADS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 37, 6 October 1931, Page 4

COUNTY ROADS

improvement work COUNCIL TAKES ADVANTAGE • OF UNEMPLOYED LABOUR. PREPARING METAL FOR FUTURE Taking advafttage of the cheap labour at present available under the No. 5 Unemployment Relief Schexne, the Rotorua County Council has dorie a great deal of much needed road- 1 ing work throughout the district that would otherwise have been postponed for several years yet. Roads have been reconstrueted and widened and even new roads have been formed to facilitate access to the outlying farming areas of the Rotorua district. Much new land is being opened up around the shores of the lake,. some by . already established farmers and some by new settlers, and suitable access to these lands is necessary. The County Council realise this need and are using the means at their disposal for helping these farmers to make a success of their ventures. This has a dual purpose, for it not only benefits the farmers, but also assists the progress of the t'own and district. , j Many of the old and previously little used roads had fallen into disrepair through the cost of maintenance being too great for the value of the land, a good deal of it abandoned farms, along their routes, but as, in the last few years, much of this abandoned property has again been taken up, the council are repairing the roads. In some places complete reconstruction work is being carried out, although where the formation is good, work is being confined to widening and general repairs. Some of the farmers who have recently taken up land in the district have settled on blocks with no outlet, except through the property of a neighbour. This in most cases entails difficulties and inconvenience, as hills and hollows have to be crossed with no defined track to ease the grades or prevent vehicles from becoming bogged. The using of another's property also has the drawback of interfering with stock in the paddoclcs traversed. Assistance for Settlers. The council in many cases has assisted these settlers by opening up short new access roads to the boundaries of their properties, thus mak-

ing available to them a suitable means of exit. | All the work done has been at a minimum cost to the council, as all they have had to supply is supervision and tools for the unemployed workers to use. For the three weeks ended September 26, 146 unemployed workers were engaged on county work, but since the withdrawal of the Maoris from the No. 5 seheme the number has been reduced to 80. Each gang of men is under the control of a foreman, and under his directions, and the supervision of the county eng'ineer, Mr. T. S. Robertson, a great deal of valuable constructional and progressive work has been done. On the east side of Lake Rotorua an access road is being made to Goudie's nurseries. This section takes in Iles' Road, which is being widened and re-formed, and a new road about a mile in length, making a total of one and a quarter miles. There are now only about 10 chains to complete. Another new access road is that at present under construction leading to Mr. Cookson's property. j The Rotoma-Matata Road, giving access from Rotorua to the bushfarming district beyond is being widened and some of the sharp corners taken off. This route for the past few years has been practically impassable, and owing to the road having given way along the cliff around Rotoma Lake, was decidedly dangerous. Five men are now working on this stretch and if the No. 5 scheme continues, the road will shortly be safe in all weather. j | Good Rock Available. Considerable work is in progress on the Okere-Hamurana route, where | gangs of men are widening the cliff road, easing off sharp bends, and cutting back the steep hillsides. Along this route are several outcroppings of hard rhyolite rock, which makes excellent all-weather surfacing material, and this is being utilised to cover, as much as possible, the softer patches of the road. The Kaharoa Road is also being widened and the surface is being covered with a soft rhyolite foundation with the harder rock on top, thus making an all-weather route through the Mangorewa Gorge to Tauranga. Previously this route was practically impassable in the winter months and caused considerable inconvenience to a number of farmers in the area. There is an excellent deposit of hard rhyolite at a point beside this road, and unemployed men are engaged in opening up a quarry. The county engineer stated that he was taking advantage of all easily accessible rock in the county and, where possible, by using the relief workers, was opening up quarries and getting stone ready for spreading on the roads when money was available for its transport.

Another mile of new road is bemg constructed off the Old Tauranga Road to give access to farmers on the other side of the National Timber Company's property. This new road is to be called Jackson's Road, as a settler by that name lives at its terminus. Several good outcrops of rock occur along this road and some of it is being broken up ready for use when required. | Oturoa and Dalbeth's Roads are being widened sufficiently for twoway traffic, and on the former some qf Jthe sharp er corners 'are being taken off. j Footpaths in Ngongotaha. A work that had been contemplated for some time, the construction of footpaths throughout Ngongotaha village, has now been completed. About 60 chains of new pathway have been formed and dressed with a heavy layer of pumice. The main object of this work was to keep pedestrians off the roadway, as a great deal of traffic passes through this area, especially on the Auck-land-Rotorua highway. Dansey Road, the short route to Mamaku, is being repaired and widened throughout. This road was

once the main route to Mamaku, but since the construction of the Auckland highway had fallen into disrepair. In the township of Mamaku itself, the streets have been tidied up and several hundred yards of stone broken. Metal has also been laid on the stretch of road connecting the village with the Auckland highway. About 60 chains of new road have been constructed just beyond the Tarukenga railway crossing, giving access to native lands, and to Steele's and Greenhead's properties. The Ngongotaha Valley Road and the Clayton Road, which _ for some time were in a rough condition, have now been generally improved by grading and pumicing, and some portions have been widened. The Ngongotaha cemetery block is being cleared of scrub and fenced. About 25 acres have already been cut, the work being practically completed. An access road has been formed to Mr. Raethel's farm through Messrs

Hunt's and Darragh's properties. The road leads off Malfroy Road, instead of taking the shorter route from the Tiki-o-Tonga Road, as this would nej cessitate the building of a £500 bridge. I Ngongotaha Mountain. Considerable work has also been done on the Ngongotaha Mountain Road, commencing from the bottom of the slope at the Clayton Road turn off. The road has been widened and many of the sharp bends removed. Ruts have been filled in and in places metal has been laid. The work is progressing rapidly and less than a mile at the top-end is left for completion. ■ The road through the bush near the summit where a certain amount of widening is to be done, will be caref ully handled so as not in any way to spoil the beauty of this attractive drive. Another improvement for the convenience of the road users is the con-% struction of three turning areas on the road at intervals up the mountain so that anyone not wishing to go right to the top, may turn in safety at one of thes specially widened areas. The road is already in moderate order and is open to traffic.