HEAT AND BITUMEN

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 251, 14 June 1932, Page 6

HEAT AND BITUMEN

A. A.

HARMAN.

Sir, — I desire to protest through the medium of the press, against a responsible witness in the recent case of the Main Highway s Board v. A. Harman, being able to get away with the statement "that the hot sun of a summer's day did not' soften, to any appreciable extent, a bitumen road," and consequently, the heat was not a contributing factor in the alleged damage done by the tractor on the Te Ngae Road. It does not require an expert to observe the effect that a hot sun has on a bitumen road, and how, for instance, the shoes of a horse will deepy mark it. I refer you to January 15 issue of this year of the Morning Post; an item in the "Local and General" column which reads: — "Horses Damage Roads": "Horses travelling on the tar-sealed roads in Rotorua during the heat of the day when the sealing is fairly soft are doing considerable damage to the surface. This is particularly noticeable in Haupapa Street, where the hoof prints are deeply embedded in the tar sealing." This being true for the first class bitumen roads in the borough, it is far more true for the much inferior Te Ngae Road. And what holds for the shoes of a horse equally applies to a tractor. Had it been a cold day no damage would have resulted, therefore the heat was a contributory factor and a major one. As for the efficiency of the road bands used on the tractor, the 99 per cent. condition of the bitumen section in Maifroy Road outside my main gate, which has been traversed by the tractor hundreds of times since it was laid down, speaks for itself. I am. etc J.

Rotorua, June 10, 1932.