SET-BACK TO HIGHWAY.

Shannon News, 16 August 1929, Page 3

SET-BACK TO HIGHWAY.

* IHE'fINiNCIA^mFFJCULTY. POSITION IN HOROWHENUA MIGHT BE WORSE. POSSIBLE RETARDATION OF FOXTON ROUTE. - various Aspects 6f tlhe ,Higflways ( - 1 ' system* wett# "before theHorowhenua County Council on Saturday, - chief" among which was the decis--4 ion''W the' Owernment to withJ 'Ubia'this -year the usual annual 1 allocation of £200,000 by way of grant tow&flds the roads of the Dominion. A" review of the situation Hby the County. Chairman (Mr G-. A. Monk) contained an optimis- ... tic note- -with -respect to the programme of work for this County, the part remaining in doubt being the further construction; of the Levih-roxton Road after the three miles now in hand are -completed. The Council decided to communi--cate- with the Main Highways - Board, again urging the need for improving the corners on the mil ' portions of the Highway between Levin and Shannon. In • a circular to District Highways Councils, a copy of which was received from the District Engineer, the chairman of the "Highways Board stated that, at the last meeting of the Board, the Recommendations made by the various District Highways Councils for the declaration of additional Mam Highways were before the Board, but it had teen necessary to postpone consideration. Quite apart from any other consideration, the recommendations made bv District Highways Councils would, the Board was afraid, in themselves re-

quire* a reconsideration of its financial - position. In the circular which -was sent out concerning the annual review, District Highways Councils were notitfied to consider any adjustments which ■appeared necessary, and at the same time it was stated that the Board might consider the declaration of a limited mileage, but District Highways Councils throughout the Dominion had entirely disregarded this advice and had 4 made wholesale recommendations for new highways. The total mileage recommended was Over 2000, or approxi-

mately 60'per cent, of the mileage of •secondary highways, and even if the Board was in a position to consider making any further declarations ; it ■ would certainly not be in a position to adopt the whole or even any isubstantial part of the recommendations made by the District Highways Coun- : TRAFFIC TALLIES TAKEN TO NO

PURPOSE. The County Chairman (Mr Gj A. = ;Monk) stated that recently a deputation from the Highways District Council Waited on Mr P. W. Furkert, chairman of the Board, ' and pointed out to him •that apparently, only a Very few miles of Highways would be available; and that the Board had put local bodies to very considerable expense in taking traffic tallies when only a very small-portion, if any, would be con- « sidered. Mr Furkert said he did not think it was the original intention of the Board that the lqcal bodies should have gone to the expense that they '. did. The Chairman added that \ the = coat to this Council had been £4B. The Board was inundated with applications for various roads, and he sup-

posed that there were so many of them that the Board was unable to make a decision. He had suggested to Mr Furkert that in future the Board ought atate the total mileage likely to be undertaken in the "whole of the Dominion in any particular year. If it was limited to, say, 100 miles, the Council could consider whether it was worth while to go to any expense at all in view of the small mileage and the more

pressing needs of roads in other parts , of the country. Mr Furkert promised to consider that point. It could be seen from the Board's report, the chairman added, that there were not going to be any fu;rth,er subsidiary highways declared this year. DANGEBOUS CORNEES. The Works Committee recommended,

with- reference to dangerous corners on No. 60 Highway, that the Highways Board be again requested to consider the urgency of carrying out improvemests on the hill portions of this Highway. Cr. ; Gimblett said he presumed that the most important section was that leading on from Law's Hill. When the Board visited the district, earlier in the year, councillors, laid stress on the needs of that particular piece of the road. Considering all things, he thought that the Board should be urged not to

drop that, as they were doing with so many of the works. The matter was of very great urgency, and he would never be satisfied till the Board had given the Council relief. The Board had written and asked for particulars of pieces of road that were dangerou*; this was one of the most dangerous pieces on the coast; with the traffic it ■ earried. and the number of years that it had been in that state, it was the duty of the Board to attend to it. The Government was giving' gragits to the cities, four of them receiving £25,000 each for relief works; yet the County was • threatened with not having the amount of petrol tax to spend on its roads that it had anticipated having.

He did not think that the Horowhenua ■■ County was getting a fair deal in regard to the petrol tax. The Board '.-had practically, turned down the two * subsidiary highways for which the Council had made application. QUESTION OF CUTTING AN© FILLING. Cr. Cattey said that the Council - should' realise what the Board's pro-

; grammes wctc. The Board operated •'*■■ over the whole of New Zealand; it was "deluged with applications for relief **".'guch aa : fo'r the'easing Of bends, for "•i /fofldgas,- f of'new-' roads and' in : other ■-'• "te'spe'ct*/ but "with the amount

of revenue the Board could not make ;ends meet.; Presumably the Board knew approximately, what its revenue was^-and-mapped out-the most urgent needs. At the rate at which people travelled now, the corners in question were very dangerous, but they were no more dangerous than they used to be. The Council could refer the matter again to the Board, and see if it could not get some easement in respect to it. He had thought that the bends were to supply material for the filling in connection with the reconstruction of the road. If the work was going to be done piecemeal, it was just a question whether the material was going to be used for that. Cr. Catley asked for

information as to the } plans for this section, and whether they shoAved if the two classes of work were going to be done together or separately. .The Engineer stated that the plans were in the Highways Board's office. The Board had the whole of the plans as from the end of the bitumen to Shannon.

Cr. Catley: I understood that there was some difference of opinion between us and their engineers. The Engineer: That has been fixed up. Cr. Catley: Then the spoil might go to the filling. WITHDRAWAL OF YEAR'iS GRANT. The Chairman stated that the Highways Act made provision of £200,000 annual contributions to the Board for expenditure on Main Highways in lieu of what the Public Works Department had been doing before the Act came into force. Every year the Department had been spending a , certain amount on the highways; after that the Board took them over, and the Government contributed £200,000 per annum. In addition a loan of 000, to be raised in portions,, was provided for; something over half that amount had so far been raised. This year, when provision was asked from the Finance Minister, he intimated that he did not propose to cut; down the amount of loan money, but he said that jthe Board could not have the annual £200,0C0 from the PuHic Works fund, which came from the Consolidated Fund. That was whore the piuch came in. Any money which the Board had to spend this year was. loan money, on which it would have to pay interest and sinking fund. The feeling of the Counties Association was that it was a definite breach. The Automobile Associations had waited on the Minister,

and they said the same. Up to the present • the . Minister had not given way. The capital expenditure was cut clown from £700,000 to £500,000, and it was loan money instead of a grant. DISTRICT COUNCIL DOES SOME

PRUNING

At the last meeting cf the District Council (the chairman continued), seeing that there were definite applications for £130,000 for highways in this district and that there was only £55,000 Jo meet the expenditure, it was decided to send a deputation to the chairman pf the Board. In the meantime the executive of the District Council met i tl Wellington and spent several hours «i the estimates, and, with the most

extreme pruning, it reduced them to £97,000, all of which represented liabilities on work to go on. The members of the executive met the chairman of the Board (Mr Furkert) and'pointed out that, despite the allocation, At was impossible for them to cut the estimates down any further.

As far as this district was concerned, the Chairman thought that, Mr Furkert realised that the works were to go on. They were to proceed with the exception cf the section between Shannon and Buckley—but he learnt recently that the Council was likely to get the authority to go on with that. DIFFICULTIES OF LEVIN-FOXTON EOUTE. The Chairman added that he had pointed out to Mr Furkert that the Levin-Foxton portion- of No. 1 Highway had been closed for three weeks to motor traffic; and that this wa» the second period during which it had been closed in the present year. Mr Furkert was apparently somewhat astounded, and said that No. 60 (Palmerston via Shannon) was more urgent than No. 1.

Cr. Barber: They have found that out now.

THBBB MILES OF PAVING ASSUEED.

The Chairman went on to say that, for six weeks in this year, motorists had not been able to travel over the Foxton route and the traffic had had to go-by way of Shannon to Palmerston or Shannon to Foxton. In the meantime the Council were pushing on with No. 1 Highway. Whatever was done, they were sure of one thing, and that was the completion of the roads and bridges between Levin and Otaki. On the Foxton route three miles of formation had been/done, which would be sealed this year. Work in doubt was a further two miles of formation and paving on that road. Sir Joseph Ward said there was a deficit and that the Highways Board must do its share towards making it up. , BACKING OF MOTOKING PUBLIC.

Cr. Barber: And he is going to "pinch" £200,000? The Chairman: No; he is not taking it; but he is not giving it to them. This Government was not responsible for the Highways Act. Here is a local body that has entered into obligations of £IOO,OOO. Can a few men coming into Parliament say, "Never mind about the Horowhenua and Hutt _Countie3 entering into these obligations — we don't approve of it"? That should

not be. The Council and the Board and the motoring public are satisfied that it is essential. Should they, at th» whim of politicians, have to shut down? I say definitely, No. I hope we will have the full backing of the motoring public who are paying the piper, and I hope they will use every endeavour to see that we are able to carry out the undertaking that we have in hand today. The Highways Board is not to blame in this particular instance. The Works Committee's recommen-

dation in reference to dangerous corners was adopted. KAIRANGA BOUNDARY BRIDGE.

On the question of reconstruction of the bridge in the vicinity of the boundary between the Horowhenua and Kairanga Counties, on No. 00 Highway, the Works Committee recommended that this Council take the necessary steps to erect a new bridge ou ths present site; the cost of same, less the Main Highway Board subsidy, to be found equally* between the Horowhenua and Kairanga Counties. That after the bridge has erected, the Kairanga County Council take control of the same and all future responsibility. That ttie Kairanga County Council be asked to confirm this arrangement by resolution. The Chairman stated that this clause was, the resvlt of his recommendation after discussing the matter with Mr Batchelor, chairman of the Kairanga County Council. The reason for tho previous arrangement was that the ground where the present bridge had had to be erected was so soft that the Kairanga,. County Council had had to divert the stream to the north, thus getting solid ground on which to put the bridge. The new work would carry a £3 for £1 subsidy from the Government, and the actual cost Would be about £6O. Mr Batchelor had suggested that a new bridge be erected and that, as it was in the Kairanga County, that Council should undertake the future control and responsibility of the bridge., Cr. Barber suggested that the work be done immediately. The Chairman: There is one other bridge that the Engineer wants to get done, and this will be the next. The report was adopted. EASEMENTS ON NO. 1 HIGHWAY.

Eeferring to No. 1 Highway, uetween LeVln and Wirokino, the Chairman said it had been necessary to/ acquire small portion of laud between Levin and Heatherlca comer and including that corner. There were three comers which had had to be eased. The Engineer had made very good arrangements with the land-owners. The fences had been set back and the road formed, but before the transfers could be completed it would be necessary to have the surveys made. The Assistant Engineer was very busy on other-work, and it had been suggested to the speaker that they might get an outside surveyor to do this part of the work"; the Highways Board would contribute according to the present ratio of subsidy. The landowners should receive payment, but it could not, be made until' these transactions were completed. He suggested that the Engineer have authority to engage an outside surveyor, as had been done on the No. 1 southern deviations—D 'Ath 's and Staples 's.

It was resolved that Mr C. W. Fos ter, of Levin, be engaged for the survey in question. WIEOKINO FLOOD PEOBLEM.

Cr. Barber called attention to the agitation by the Foxfon Chamber of Commerce to have -the portidn of the Wirokino Highway in the Manawatu County raised above flood level. It had been suggested, he said, that they should get spoil from the Horowhenua County. Would that have any bearing on No. 1 Highway? The Chairman: We have nothing official before us, and I don't know what bearing It might have. Chambers of Commerce make all sorts of suggestions.

Cr. Gimblett: If an owner sold them a sandhill, we could not stop them. The Chairman: They thought they / could make a deviation on our road '■and use the spoil for the other one.

Cr. Gimblett: They would have a good distance to eart it. I would not like to spend a lot of money on plans and surveys on the old road if we can go on the new one.