MOTORISTS’ MECCA

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 276, 11 February 1928, Page 11

MOTORISTS’ MECCA

THREE CARS A MINUTE ROADS CRUMBLE AT ARAPUNI COUNTY COUNCIL’S COMPLAINTS (From Our Own Correspondent) MATAMATA, To-day. The effect of the enormous rush of cars to Arapuni was discussed by the Matamata County Council yesterday. Roads, it was stated, are deteriorating. The council complained about the Public Works Department’s attitude toward a bridge washed away by the river overflow. Councillor Daily drew the attention of the council to the dangerous state of the road past the powerhouse site at Arapuni. On certain days cars had arrived at the rate of three a minute for hours on end, and arrivals had continued till 9 p.m. The road was only a narrow one, with a drop of several hundred feet on one side. Workmen were now working on a platform below the cliff, and loose metal flicked over by a car from that height might cause injury or death. The road was never meant for general traffic, and he urged that the council request that the approaches to the roadway over the dam-wall be completed as soon as possible, so that the other road could be thrown open in the interests of safety. SETTLERS STRANDED The suggestion was unanimously agreed to, several councillors remarking that it was a wonder a serious accident had not occurred on the temporary road before now. Councillor Judd pointed out that the diversion of the Waikato River across the Wai Tiki flat had destroyed a bridge which was eight or nine settlers’ only means of access to Arapuni. They were now stranded. The Public Works Department had not replied to representations made to it, and he held that the council should give the settlers every support. The engineer pointed out that the bridge had been erected by the settlers themselves, at a cost of £750, and that it had been used by the Public Works Department when carting poles. On the motion of Councillors Judd and Allen, it was decided to write to the department on the matter, and ask that the bridge be replaced out of Arapuni funds.