UPKEEP OF STREETS.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 April 1921, Page 5

UPKEEP OF STREETS.

WORK IN NEW PLYMOUTH. RECENT EXPENDITURE HEAVY. The cost to the Borough of New Plymouth of the upkeep and construction of streets during the last year is mentioned by the general manager (Mr. F. T. Bellringer) in the course of his annual report to the council. Referring to the position of the general account, he states: — Upon this account falls the burden of the maintenance and upkeep of the borough streets, the maintenance of several departments the provision of subsidies and all expenditure not chargeable to separate accounts. Experience has shown that it is an extremely difficult matter to keep the expenditure from this account within reasonable limits. It has never been more difficult than during the past two years. The very heaVy expenditure which had of necessity to be incurred last year and the previous year in the successful- attempt to save the several miles of tar-sealed roads which had been permitted to get into a bad state during tiie war period, is reflected in the large debit balance of this account. How heavy this expenditure has been may be judged by comparing the average annual expenditure upon street maintenance for the five years ending March 31, 1919, amounting to £7433 per annum, with the average expenditure for the same item for the past two years, when it amounted to £23418 per annum. At the commencement of the year the debit balance of the account amounted to £7763 18s 11. This was the highest debit balance the account had ever amounted to and was caused by the heavy expenditure upon street maintenance above referred to. From the statement of accounts it will be shown that at the end of the year the debit balance amounted to £9461 15s Bd, an increase over the previous year of £1697 16s 9d.

This was not altogether unexpected, as it was realised that it would take at least two years to bring the streets back into a good state of repair, and it was almost impossible to estimate what the expenditure would be. The position was also aggravated during the year by increases in cost of both labor and materials, and by the fact that loan moneys were not available for new workr. For many years loan money has been available and it has been possible to keep the majority of the working staff and the whole of the plant engaged upon loan work for a good portion of the time. This has the effect of relieving the general account of a portion of both the working cost of the plant and also overhead charges thereon. There being very little loan money available this y&r, the general account has had to carry the whole of the burden. Although the debit balance of the account has been increased by such a large amount during the last two years I am quite satisfied that the right thing was done. If it had not been done many miles of streets by this time would have been in such a condition that nothing short of complete reconstruction would have been of any use. This is conclusively proved by our experience of the lower end of Gill Street. This street was constructed at the same time as the streets comprising the tram route of the same class of material. It was one of the streets the council intended to try and save but so many other streets had to be attended to that there was not time to repair it before the winter months set in. By the end of the winter it was in such a condition that it had to be entirely reconstructed at a very heavy expense. Had it not been for‘the very heavy repairs effected to the other streets the same thing would have applied and the borough today would have been faced with an enormous expenditure for reconstruction. It has cost some thousands of pounds to save the situation, but the result attained was well worth the expenditure. . , The tarred streets are now in good condition and in future years it should be possible to gradually wipe off the large debit balance of this account.