MODERN ROADS.

Shannon News, 8 March 1927, Page 1

MODERN ROADS.

LEVIN'S PROGRESSIVE POLICY. A REVIEW OF PAST AND PRESENT OPERATIONS. (From the Levin Chronicle). It isjgjiven to few municipalities to carry out their roading as economically, moreover as expeditiously, as has been done in Levin. The work has mostly been executed under the loan of £25,000 which was sanctioned in 1922. Prior +,o that there had been tar-sealing in Oxford street from Queen street to Mako Mako road, a distance of about 50 chains; but now the total length of roads of the modern class in the ! Borough—either bitumenised or tar—is close upon seven miles, and the cost has been well below, the estimate. Up-to-date machinery has facilitated operations, and this year intensive . progress has been made possible by a long spell of fine weather. Beyond this, however, a great deal of credit is due to the Borough Overseer, Mr H. Channings, and his staff, for the workmanlike manner in which the whole scheme is being handled. Originally unversed in the new method of formation, the Overseer put down his first length of bitumen road in 1922, in Queen street, from Oxford street to Bristol street. The result is there for all to see —a thoroughfare which seems to have improved with age rather than the reverse. It provides a fine piece of smooth going for motorists and cyclists alike, and this despite the fact that a portion of it is subjected to a good deal of stock traffic before and after the weekly sales. Perhaps the most interesting piece of roadmakiilg that was done this season was the formation in Cambridge street, from Mako Mako road to Quee-t Street. Last year it was little better than a rough, winding and uneven track, but it was straightened, levelled by cutting and filling ,and now it presents an absolutely even bituminous surface from end to end of the section of 48 chains. The estimate for this section was £1056 ,and the work was done for £1022, and it was while doing this portion that the staff put up their record of 35 chains of bitumen penetration in one day. Queen Street East, from Oxford St. to Bartholomew road/was formed, bitumenised and 'top-dressed in the same season, two years ago, but the. experience has shown that it is advisable to defer the top-dressing of roads in general until the season following their formation, so that the bitumenised metal may be given time to settle and consolidate and to show-.--any defects that may be likely to develop. Queenwood road, for 30 chains, from Queen Street East to York Street, wa* forme'd "last year and top-dressed this season, and the same was the .case with Cambridge Street from Queen Street to York Street, 32 chains. In the former case the estimate for the work was £660 and the actual cost £623, and in the latter the estimate was £603 and the cost £598 15s.

Shortly prior to the loan, a length of 32 chains was tar>-sealed and given a bitumen coat, in Oxford Street from the Weraroa Domain to the Beach, load. An estimate obtained from an engineer put the cost of this' section down at £1260, but it was completed bv the foreman and his staff for £640. This work was done five years ago, and the road had a top-dressing of bitumen the following year, since when it has not required attention. To all appearances it is as good as new. In Mako Mako Boad'from the Woraroa Domain corner to Weraroa road, bitumen penetration was done two years ago and top-dressing last year; and from Weraroa road to Mar el Street penetration work was done last year and totf-dressing this season. Stuckey Street, a connecting link of 3 7 chains between Weraroa road and lower Oxford Street, has had two coats of tar-sealing, and will probably be sprayed with bitumen next year. The section of Weraroa road '■•from Mako Mako load to Queen Street is 50 chains. Of this 37 chains was formed and bitumonised last year and topdressed this year. Recently the remaining 13 chains to connect with Queen Street was fonried and bitumenised. Much preliminary work had to be done along this road, as the or*ginsl levels were far from satisfactory, so that grading to a depth cf 14 inches was necessary, with corresponding fillings in the depressions, in order to secure the excellent flat. highway th \t„ • now matches Cambridge Street on the ! other parallel side of the business area iof the town. Four wooden culverts in J Weraroa road were removed and replaced by concrete calverts, which are of an up-to-date box-like construction. The borough staff manufactures the I concrete sections, such work being ' done i:'- the shed in wet weather, wlici | ordinary reading operations are suspended. The estimate for Weraroa road wa,i £IOB6, for 48 chains, but 50 chains o f . work was 'carried out, at a cost of • £lll6. This would only represent a ' few pounds over a proportionate esti- | mate for the longer distance, and | much extra work was necessary as compared with other roads.. i - ■ ■ The latest roading done up to the present time is- 32 chains of bitumen formation in .Queen Street West, from Weraroa Boad to Tiro Tiro Boad. This is setting nicely now, and when topdressed next scascn it should form a perfect road. This will have cost £460 15s'3d, as against an estimate of £540 —a result which is all the more satisfactory when it is remembered that the old road was considerauiy pot-holed. Summarised, the work a carried out ...«>:.-U»-t<.j*£tiEak.

this season on borough roading are as under:— Cambridge' Street—4B chains new woik. Weraroa road—l2 chains new work. J Queen Street—32 chains new work. Mako Mako Road—l2 chains top- ' dressing. Bath Street—B chains top-dressing. Queenwood Road—3o chains topdressing. Cambridge Stfreet—32 chains topdressing. Footpaths and kerbing—-62 chains or footpath and 96 chains of kerbing. The next work to be dene will be the formation of York Street, from Cambridge Street to Queenwood road, a length of 18 chains. It is hoped to make a start on this piece to-morrow. Similar work on Mako Mako road wiU ■ follow, from Mibel Street to the Race- I course. After that the staff will resume footpath construction, which will be carried on for six months, during a part of the year when the roading,. operations are suspended. . Next season it is proposed to form \ Bath, Durham, and Mabel Streets, it ! > may .also be possible to form Weraroa Road""frbm ~ : 'Queen Street to York St.; " and give soihe attention to Kent StTeet. All. the streets will then have been-completed, and about half the' total length of the borough roads,. which,, aggregate 20 miles, will have : eithejf a bituraenised or a tar-sealedi;