Fast, Heavy Traffic Breaks Up Concrete

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 612, 14 March 1929, Page 1

Fast, Heavy Traffic Breaks Up Concrete

GREAT SOUTH ROAD LOCAL BODIES CONCERNED Fast heavy traffic is being blamed for more than one failure of the concrete on the Great South Road. Local bodies are becoming very much concerned at the damage being done to their most expensive pavements. Those on the Great South Road are looking with anxiety at cracks appearing in the concrete, which they put down in preference to bitumen, and on which they got comparatively less favourable subsidy terms from the Highways Board. SHOULDERS WON’T STAND The continual expense of maintaining shoulders to the concrete was referred to in a report by its engineer to the Manurewa Town Board. No material that would stand up to the strain, and provide more or less permanent shoulders, had been discovered, stated the report. Although the speed of heavy vehicles is limited under the motor regulations, cases were dealt with at the last sitting of the Otahuhu Court, where the heavy lorries weighing up to seven and ahalf tons had been travelling at speeds over 100 per cent, higher than that allowed.

The traffic inspector, in prosecuting, said that wear and tear caused by this class of traffic was enormous. When it was considered that the force of impact of these vehicles, on striking a depression of one inch on the road, was equal to over 20 tons, it could easily be seen that it was only a question of time when something had to