SHANNON-FOXTON ROAD.

Shannon News, 13 November 1923, Page 3

SHANNON-FOXTON ROAD.

QUESTION OF MAINTENANCE

' At Saturday's meeting of the Horowhenua County Council letters .were received from the Shannon Borough Council, tibe Shannon Branch ot trie Farmers' l Union, the Whitanui -Flaxmilling Company, iand the ' Shannon Co-operative.' Dairy CO., drawing attention to tWe unsatisia.cto.ry. condition of the road hetwieen tfh|a Manawatu Bridge and Shannon, anjd asking that it be attended to. The Shannon Fanners' Union further stated that the whole of the roads in the Tokonumi Riding were out of repair. The chairman said that, in moving that these letters be received, lie would say that the road complained of was not a good road and might not ever be a good road. There was a lot of traffic on it at present, and it was also *|i, road which wjas subject to flooding with the .result that the' foundations were rotten. At present there were banking' operation in progress in the neighbourhood and he did not think that there was any posJ i.,..iny of doing .anything to put the road on a satisfactory looting until this was completed. , Regarding the complaint of the ■Shannon ■ Borough he had been over the road and would-like to say that the Shannon Borough road was not any better than was the County road. As regards the Shannon Dairy Co., the complaint wals a. reasonable ■one. Theirs was a legitimate and nttcessarv industfry, ■ bulk, he fthought the factory'.could .assist by providing wider tyres, on their vehicles. Milk was one of the worst loads which could be carried oh a road- It was a swaying load and cut up a,road, badly, and if the factory would arrange to put on wider tyres it would help. He would mention also Hhat the allocation for the road was ihore than expanded so that the position was difficult. -,'■,: •'•.■■

, In the Tokomaru Riding the roads were admittedly out of condition, but the County had been held up through failure, to securte adequate supplies of metal from Paekakariki, .but he hoped to be able to get on wittti, the ,work shortly. Gr: Whyt)e v sa,id that with regard to the complaint, of the Farmers' Union it would a.ppear from the letter that ail 'the roads in the riding were bad, but this wias not a ia-ct". There were really only, those roads bad over which the transmission poles were being carted. The chairman- suggested that where damage was don© by the Public Works Department -the Engineer should take steps to haiv ( e a claim, .against the Government enforced for the damage done. • , . . , >The Engineer stated' that this had bo£n attempted!' but no satisfaction 'had been got so far. , ' , , Gr. Galley said, that- most of the trouble in the. Tokomaru riding was .probably caused 'by tlie* class of. metal used.-. They had an dllus;tratioii of this in Kukul when the mietal was, put on aait came from ttte! xiver. On the main roads the road .roller crushed the larger stones which strengthened the remainder but in the other roads this had not been done so that tlhe laiger stones rolled -off. What was 'necessary was more machinery to deal with the metal adequately. Cr. Barber said that practically the whole of tha trouble was in the souflhern end! of the, riding and was mostly due to the banking operations and tiie action of the Public Works. Oh the motion of the', chairman it was decided that the matter of ' the Shannon-Foxton road be. .reterred to the Engineer iand members for the riding to inquire into and decide if fflie fiances o'i the riding permitted of an allocation being made lor the' work.