Hamilton Road

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 308, 20 March 1928, Page 5

Hamilton Road

Extremely Bad Condition and No Maintenance Every motorist and every service car driver echoes the numerous complaints made recently about the Great South Road. The Automobile Association is so concerned that it is approaching the members of Parliament concerned. “Headlight” went over the road during the past week-end, and in his opinion it is in a shocking state for great stretches, and is certainly far from good all the way between Drury and Ngaruawahia. The moment the motorist leaves the concrete at Papakura, he strikes heavy loose gravel, and except for a few miles, he is struggling through that all the way to Hamilton. Little if any maintenance work appears to be in hand anywhere, and to the casual observer the mounds of loose metal thrown up at the side of the road seem to indicate that even grading work is long overdue. The road through Huntly and Taupiri, and in a few other places, is in a terrible state with potholes, and uniess something is done, will be almost impossible for light cars. Noteworthy exceptions are the pieces of road newly tar-sealed on the Rangiriris, and the clay surface of the Bombay deviation. The clay has been worn hard and smooth by the summer traffic and is a delightful change, but, of course, the deviation will shortly be closed for metalling. For the rest of the route, it is practically a continual churn through heavyloose gravel. Woe betide the motorist who starts out on anything but a firstclass set of tyres. Even if the gravel were “blinded” by only one coating of earth or clay it would be immeasurably better than at present.