Public Works

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 130, 19 October 1912, Page 8

Public Works

REFORM PARTY'S STATEMENT. The Hon. W. Fraser, Minister for Public Works, delivered the first Public Works Statement of the Reform Party last night. In prefacing the Statement he remarked that as he only assumed office as Minifitcr of Public Works- on 10th, July, it was scarcely necessary to state that all references -in-tire 'Statement to operations, during'the last s financial year were strictly departmental,

ROADS AND' RAILWAYS. ''. Continuing, Mr. Fraser said:— In r my opinion, to give the settlers of the. Dominion access to tyeir.iholdmj»S;.])'y'.nieans of roads should be the first consideration in any scheme of pubile works'.' , I have no desire to minimise-the value of railways to the Dominion, but these are of-secondary importance if the, settlers cannot .reach them. . Now,, road-making in New Zealand is difficult and expensive,! owing to the configuration of the country, ' and to the absence in many localities of j suitable nietal. ' '.Hence ' considerablel sums have to be provided each year ipr j this class of work. In view of' the' fact! that the unexpended balance, of authorities for roads arid'bridges'on' 31st .March, 1912,' was £4GG,3G7. andi that between Ist. April 'last and' Slst July 'further authorities amounting to -£145',79f1i We're Is- . sued. I found myself at the ; latter, date 'faced r with commitments totalling £615,163 for roads and bridges-alone f witho:ut allowing-for-the .provision-/requiring [to be made for applications! f,'pr ; new .votes. These applications now ■amount'to-over a million and a "half. The totab'prov-is-ion for .ro.ftds..and-,hiijige6 for the current year is very similar in amount ,to that'of last year. The total provision for railway; construction for the year- is £847,500, whTcti" v fs'~:ES3,7B9 more tliim was expended new railways list jear. ~~* >

CO-OPERATIVE; ;LABQR, , ; Let me now-say ml if regarding'the "so'-called. co-operafe- ; system. | Most of the'- advocates:") of. -system , seeft to be' under-tHe'-impreggiftn-itliat the word "co-operative" is. small contracts: If itho. letter k what is desired, -theft I am in perfect -accord with them. >'": -nritrf - co-Qiperat.ivfl wdrk presupposes a certain number of iwojrkmen voluntarily! joining.feogether to execut6 certiiti oincie(r£a,kings, 93id sharing the proceeds ol..their Jaipur.;;, As far as-practicable I-intend, itc>, give effect;to this principle. vT. realise.^fa;illy. f ,,;n.owev£r, I 'that-no <sne.'system-j\ViU-.s,i}l]fifle for ctir-rying-on all' our public wtyks-^n;.a manner satisfactoryt'o-' thfi.:.wpjrk6rs, and 'to the community as a'.whole.'-, This jcc't will'have my»'<fjjrcfjji .attention during the PUBLIC WORKS - -EXPENDITURE., The total expenditure of tnVyear ion public works riot',oiilyiii excess; of ■that of the. pVeviqus,' bill! was the. largest in any single year fprwer thij-ty. years, and amounted to the verv large siim 'of''£2,47o,lso^yin'. - .'£2,387;411"'0uti of, the Public Wpi'ks.;Fu'n'(l ff'nd all'ted 'specialaccounts, , and £88,T.4.3' 6tit-' ? ol i; 'tlie ; . Cpnsolidated Fund '■ ■■■■"■^ ■-. ;--v.-" ;

.' .way's^ndM^sv;;'"' I \ At March- 31., 1011 ri .yie'Ju'ailab j le' ways., and means- for 1 were £1,140,045. 'expen-. diture of tjie .year to' £2,200,-. .745, and charges.'and.'e.\p"e'nses',j.n iespject of raising il>?,,4/0. 'thus 'bringing the. total disbursement's'' up't6"£2,'2(sß,215, aiid leaving a "credit balance at the end of the -y'ea'r l of>M,sßo. ! For the current year .Jt ( ;ys,,proppsed' to provide a.dditiwid, iunds -as ,follows:-V Balance of loan of-1011, £1,030,000; transfer from, proposed' new. 10an,.-,:£1,750,-000. The above, with ,fchn.bala-ncq•hro.iurhtforward, gives a gross total' ;! of r '. £3,C'32y580..' The estimated expenditure, : fo'u, oriiblie works (for the current -year\ .(excluding' separate accounts.;haying.; r theif '-.own-' ways- and means) amounts to-.£2,74B,o.oo;'leaving; an -estimated balance pi..£BS4;. r >80 'to', be I carried forward to;next year. .

. RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. ; Steady progress •hasi'been made during the year' with; tlre:Mheavy construction works at .the 'western end of" this line, although' the nature of! -the-country traversed and 'the-, weather. - conditions prevailing 'during',, the greater; part, of the year Ih-ahdjeappiid tlife operations to an appreciable extent. The section from Te Wera to Poliokura, eight miles fifty-five chains. inY'leilgrti, has nieen 'finished, unci handed over 1 to the Railway Department, for regular 'traffic. Beyond Pohokura ' the" SO-'Chain tunnel, through tluMVliaiigamomrina Saddle Was finished in. .March,', the 'heavy- formation works up to Whangamomoreiii practically completed, and the jjief« ; for"'a bridge between the tunnel, arid'the to'wnsh'ip~ built "in readiness for the superstructure, which, is. being manufactured" under" contract. Some smaller' bridges'-liaVe" still to be' erected before the 'township is reached. Slips in several of the'■h'eav'y cuttings on this length have 'given trouble, and it is expected that ifurther -'slip's" .will occur owing"to the liability-''of 'the papa forma-' tion to give way, -'Rails''have 'been 'laid to wit'hiir two miles' of Whangamomona, and blasting" coihpl'eted-up'' to ; the tunnel,, about a mile feehiiid-the- rail-head, Beyond Whangam'onVtfha eavfrhworks are in hand over a length -tt't'■ .seven miles and a half, and temporary'bridges have been built over ii'nw of- the streams to facilitate, the,' transport" of materials, shingle, and cement. '.A. tunnel through the Tahora Saddle, seven miles, from Whangamomona:, -lias :beeif commenced. The country beyond Tahora is of an exceptionally difficult ''nature for railway construction, and 'caref-uT trial survey's are being made so as-tar-ensure the eelc/e----tion of the best available route to carry the line into the' OkiVa r Valley. _ With the object'of giving the settlers in the feilile O'.iura district the benefit of access to a railway xhirihg the years which must elapse before tfhe line'from Taranaki can reach' their settlement, it was last year decided to -commence the construction of this line''from the easternend, and after investigation a good route was found, leaving the Main Trunk- line about one mile and a half south of Te Koura Station,-leading nip .'the Okahm kara Valley, negotiating the dividing range by means 'of- a 74-chain tunnel running down, the Otahn Valley to Ma- 1 tiere, and (hence on to Ohnra. This' route is six miles shorter than the origmal one from Ongarue. The new line wis authorised last year, and formation work started in November last, A service road, over seven-mile* in length is being formed, which will,'on completion serve as amain road from ilm Ohura Valley to Taum.irunui. The railway l route lias ben cleared from the June-1 tion up to the tunnel site, and cutting

opened in various places along the first two miles. Plans of the projected tunnel are being prepared, vrilli a view to inviting tenders for its construction. During the linuuial year the i xjn'riditurc on tin- ivorks at both ends ot this line amounted to £BI.BOO. and for the current year a vole of £!H).O0O is proposed.

MOUNT EG MONT BRANCH. A small ainouii; of formation work was carried out during the year, timber ior bridges procured, and investigations made as to the best means of 'Working the stone quarry which the line is to serve.

Expenditure during the last financial year amounted to £2053, and for the. current year a vote of £IO,OOO is asked for. OPUNAKE BRANCH. In April last a commission was appointed to inquire and report as to t!)o host means of serving by railway th/ ' fertile and closely settled portion of Taranaki lying t'o' the westward of the existing main line. The Commission made a tho/ough investigation throughout the district, and in its report, which lias already been laid before Parliament, recommended the construction of a line I from New Plymouth in a south-westerly [direction between Mount Egmont and the sea. passing close to Opunake, trav- . ersing the rich Waimate Plains, and i joining the existing line near Te Roti I Station.

A short branch from Kapuni to !"■■ ponga was also recommended, capable <>' extension- to Stmtford, and also a second branch from the same place (Kapuni) to Manaia.

The totaj length of construction recommended by the Commission, was 72% miles, estimated to cost £539,000. ( The programme outlined is more comprehensive and costly than appears'necessary to serve the present requirements of the district; but railway facilities are undoubtedly required for the transport of the large and increasing output from the dairy factories between the existing main line arid --the "western' sea'-ebast. After mature consideration the Governirnent has decided to ask Parliament to [authorise the' ebhsruction of a branch ! -railway from the main line to Opunake, The line will be twenty-three miles in '■length, and- the country along the route being for the most part favourable, the cost of construction will probably be' beiloy ..the-average of recent'years.

OTHER RAILWAYS..-..:. . For the North Auckland Main Trunk Klie the expenditure last year was £78,802, the largest on record for the line, and an apprapriation .of £BO,OOO is pro/posed for.- til-?, current year. • For the South Island' Maim Trunk rail-' way the expenditure at-both ends of the line amounted, to £5,5,6§1 and ,for the .current,.year Votes : of £20,000 and £30.000 are .proposed for the north and south ends-respectively. The expenditure on the Midland Railway last, year to ,£133,,124 and for the current year the" following appropriations are '" proposed:—NeWon end,. £30,000; Reef-ton . end, . £17,000; Otira-Bealey, £70,000; Bealev-Gass' total £167,000. "' "7 :'' ''uMt 'railways; ■'' >■ ,

"Railway construction throughout ihe Dominion has," says the Minister, "during the last ten years, been proceeded with,at a rate as,,.rapid as can be'con-sidered-.warrantable by anyone having regard to-the financial obligations which we,; as trustees for posterity, are justified in., incurring. Each year witnesses, an appreciable-increase 'in the mileage of lines completed and opened for traffic; nevertheless the,, applications- received from: all parts; of the country for new railways and for extensions of existing lines—in many cases with every prospect of returning a profit-sufficient 'to pay interest on the cost of construction —are more than the Government .can see its way with prudent financial administratipn to entertain. A moderate calculation places the length of railways still required j;o give an. efficient service ; throughout the Dominion at 1500 to 2-000 miles, the cost of which,' calculated at £BOOO per mile (which is a fair average under prevailing conditions), will amount to £12,000,000 to £16,000,000. •Hitherto all our railways have been constructed in accordance with a high standard ass.- regards stability of .formation, weight of rails, and quality of permanent way generally, but I -suggest to honor-

| able members that the time has-, arrived ■when we should consider the question of providing lighter. and cheaper railways to serve the districts where settlement is advancing and where the maintenance of roads, in fit condition to carry produce to, the.main lines throughout, the year, is likely to prove a heavy burden to the settlers. In. the interior of the North Island, particularly, road construction is an expensive undertaking, and the maintenance under heavy arid regular, traffic is in many instances likely to be a continuous burden, owing to the absence of metal and the rapid dcterior-■ti-on- of the formation through brokencountry in wet weather.' If the bulk of the ; produce could be carried on rails to the -main- lines, or to an outlet to the markets, the roads would' be'relieved of the worst of the .-.traffic, and the. settlers •would not ,be. exposed to. the '• heavy sharges,,.and sometimes long delays, now incurred in bringing their produce to a distant railway. It is not proposed to depart from the standard 3ft. Gin. gauge, but. considerable saving can be effected by decreasing the width of banks, avoiding tunnels and heavy cuttings, by adopting a steeper maximum grade and sharper curves, constructing bridges of lighth .design, using lighter rails than

: the present minimum of 551b, reducing | the standard depth of ballasting, and greatly curtailing the expenditure on station buildings. The retention of the 3ft. Oin. gauge is important, as the experience of countries whore, a gauge as narrow as '2ft. has been adopted is that rolling stock has still to be provided of standard height with greatly reduced : width, which renders the passenger carriages and covered vans less capable of resisting wind pressure, unless permanently loaded with dead weight at the whirli is undesirable. In a country like New Zealand, where high winds are frequent in most parts, it would often not be safe to run regular traffic, particularly in mountainous localities, on a line only 2ft. wide. The most favorable lines to operate as light lines are disconnected sections, carrying their own locomotives and rolling stock, which never go off the seetion. It will not be, feasible to adopt much lighter construction where a line is traversed by, express trains carrying passengers at a high rate of speed, or on lines where coal or timber forms any considerable portion of the freight to he handled, as both

these commodities rcf|i::ro heavy rolling) stock and a lim- up to the standard oil strength. It is desirable (hat any see- \ tion on which t!i- system is tried should') be long enough to maintain in use its I own equipment of locomotives and roll- ! ing stock. Short hr.'mhcs. ofl' a main line, which would necessarily have to be traversed by the rowing stock of the main line, would be better built in accordance with the usual standards." ROADS AXD BRIDGES.

Tlic provision made on last year's ap proprialiona for road and bridge works under all votes and accounts (including the Consolidate Fund vote for maintenance) amounted to a total of £838,000. As in the previous year, in nearly every case where it was anticipated that the local bodies would undertake the work they. were, given, the opportunity of doing so. The offers of expenditure of •available balanops on the. votes provided on the main and supplementary estimates were despatched on October 16 and 27, being the respective dates on which the estimates were presented to Parliament, so that there can be no just complaint of delay in advising local bodies of what moneys were available. Authorities to proceed with works which were to be carried out by the Department's own engineers were also jssued promptly after the passing of the appropriations. Including the unexpended balances of authorities brought forward from the previous financial year, the total authorised during the year amounted to no less a sum than £002,850. Despite these facts, however the expenditure of the year amounted to only £526,489, leaving an unexpended balance of authorities amounting to £460,367, as at March 31 last. Between April 1 last and July 31 further authorities amounting to €145,700 were issued, making the total amount authorised. as at *ily.3l £612,163. The expenditure brought to : charge during the four months, April 1 to Julv 31," amounted to £100,003. ; The large" *um of money authorised during' the financial year shows clearly that an earnest effort was made to give every'opportunity of fully expending the votes, but the fact that I only £526,480 was expended seems to indicate that it is impossible to expend iir the-time- available so large a sum as { was authorised. Shortage of suitable labor at" the best time of the year, and the' unusually wet weather conditions which prevailed, doubtless to a large extent adversely affected the progress of works; but one reason I think why the amount voted was not fully expended is • the multiplicity of small votes. On last: year's appropriations the average , amount of-votes provided under "Roads,. etc.," vote for the North Island was approximately £2lO, the total 1 number of ! items' being about 2300. It may safely be asserted that the smaller the average amount of individual votes the greater ; will 'be the cost of administration and the difficulty of expending them. It is ■! much easier and also less costly to ex-1 pekr £SOOO on' one road than to expend'£soo : on ; 'each of ten roads in different and, apart even from, the question of facilitating expenditure, a policy of concentrating expenditure of whatever moneys may be available on roads of primary importance instead of doling out a few hundred pounds yearly' to each of a ridiculously largo number of roads, some of which are only of third or fourth-rate importance, will-result in far greater • material progress in the roading of our backblock districts, and eventually prove itself to the best interests o'f all concerned. The existing obligation's in regard to votes previously provided for on the appropriations and works in hand rendered it impracticable to make a commencement with such a; policy in compiling the estimates for the current year; but during the recess the question will be carefully gone into, and, combined with a measure giving more assured finance to local governing bodies, I' hope to see results achieved in the near, future which will speedily remove the' disabilities under which many of our settlers at present labor owing to the want of adequate means of communication with markets.

"My predecessors," continued the Minister, "have had occasion to draw attention to the unwillingness of some local bodies to accept their proper responsibilities in regard to ■ maintenance work. 1 have again to emphasise the matter. The law provides that all roads in a county are county roads, unless specially declared by Order-in-Council to be Government roads, and the duty of maintaining such county roads unquestionably devolves Upon the local governing body. Local bodies in some cases plead that they are financially unable to undertake the' work, but in such eases it is usually found that they are not levying the full amount of rates which the law allows. The neglect of local bodies in this matter and the exceptionally wet season necessitated the expenditure out of the Consolidated Fund vote for maintenance of £37,449 during Jast financial year, and during the four months of the current year ended July 31 last a further sum of £17.290 was' authorised. A considerable proportion of the expenditure last year and of that authorised this year represents work which should have been provided for by the local authorities."

ROAD WORK APPROPRIATIONS. The total .appropriations for road works are as follows: £ Roads, etc. 300,000 Backblock roads 200,000 Roads on goldfields 30,000 Opening up Crown lands for settlement account 100,000 -National endowment account .. 19,200 Land for settlements account.. 20,000 -New Hutt road 5,300 Maintenance of roads (Consolidated Fund) ..-...'.. 40,000 Total -. £734,500 The appropriations last" year amounted to £838,060.