A VITAL LINK.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 March 1922, Page 4

A VITAL LINK.

TARANAKI TO AUCKLAND. LOWER AWAKINO ROAD. MUST BE EXPEDITED. Many years ago the late Richard J. Seddon was proceeding overland from Awakino to Te Kuiti via the Taumatamaire hill, near Awakino. Then, as now, it was in a shocking condition, only to be attempted from - dire necessity. Turning to the late Mr. Wilson Hursthouse, then head of the La mis and Survey Department, he exclaimed: “What (adjective) fool ever put a road over here!” He pointed down below towards the Awakino River, winding its way to the coast from Mahoenui. “That is >vhere the road should have been! It’s perfectly flat and would have cost less than half this wretched track has.” Wilson Hursthouse could be as vehement as anyone else, and said he (Mr. Seddon) was responsible himself, for he had ordered the throwing open for selection of the land in the block before the sections were surveyed, and later, when the survey came to be made, it was found necessary to take the road over the ridge in order to give access to the various sections. A COSTLY MISTAKE. For that mistake the districts chiefly concerned, and the country generally, have suffered ever since. The Taumatamaire will be generally acknowledged by motorists t» he positively the worst hill road in the North Island. Compared with it the Herekino Gorge Road, between Kaitaia and the Herekino River, and the Kaimai, between Tauranga and Matamata, are as racing tracks. It is not a road—it is a series of steps cut in the steepest parts which the motor has to jump, whilst at the bends, which are of the nature, there is no escaping the holes. You simply have to head for them and trust to luck to get out safely. In dry weather you have a chance; in wet weather you fare disastrously unless you are equipped with spade and rope. There is no attempt at grading or forming, and in wet weather there is always the possibility of sliding or slipping oirer the side to the deep valley below. This is the connecting link between Auckland and Taranaki, a piece of road from which at present you cannot escape. Settlers have to use it to reach Mahoenui, Piopio and Te Kuiti. It is little wonder, then, that the settlers are looking eagerly for deliverance from this awful handicap to the completion of the road below, which Mr. Seddon’a eagle eye told him was the natural and easiest* communication between the coast and the interior. The work was commenced many years ago, and the general belief is that it will he finished before the present year is out. An inspection of the work, however, reveals the\fact that unless more vigor is shown, xnore labor-saving machinery and men are put on, the road will not .be completed for years. And the dreaded Taumatamaire will still have to be traversed. INSPECTION OF THE WORK. This was the deliberate opinion of tho writer after making a careful inspection of the whole of the work. Eighteen months ago a steam shovel was introduced at the Awakino end in order to widen the road and shift the rock that had fallen. But from what one can gather the machine has been out of commission for most of the time, owing to breakages. Of late the men have become more familiar with its working, and better results are being obtained, but manifestly there is a great deal more work than one machine can cope with if the road is to be opened in reasonable time.

From the factory to the point where the steam shovel is working, a distance of about 3A miles, the road is negotiable, but the metal requires knapping and rolling. For the next 3J miles the road has been formed, but many slips have occurred, principally because no provision had been macle to drain the water that comes rushing down the sides of the hill. Why drains and culverts were not put in at the time the road was formed it is difficult to understand. The whole of the spoil, however, could be shifted by an up-to-date steam shovel and the road widened from Bft to 18ft in the course of six months. For men to tackle it, it would take six years. The steam shovel is designed for this very work; it could sedop up the rock and swing it over the side of the river. BULK OF THE WORK DONE. From this point to the tunnel is about another 3A miles. The bulk of the stone work has been done here, but there have been a good many slips which require removing. In places the road passes through soft material, and metal will need to be laid down. This is the case near the tunnel particularly, where the hard stone excavated could have been utilised instead of being dumped into the river alongside. The tunnel is a fine piece of work, being about two chains long, and wide enough to allow two vehicles to cross. It aa lofty, dry. and well lighted. Tn every respect it is a good job. A gang of men are required to clear the way and prepare for the work of the shovel, also to blast rock over a distance of about a quarter of a mile. A contract has been let for a little cutting and formation work on the northward side. A start has been made with the job, and it can be finished in a month or two. A fairly considerable flat is next met with, and the road will traverse it for about a mile until the river is again encountered. Nothing so far has been done here. Forming and metalling this mile present no difficulty whatever. A good gang with horses and drays, plough and grader, could complete it in a couple of months. THE NORTHERN END. The next work is that of making a cutting through a shoulder of land abutting on the river, and a contract lor this should be let at once and the work put through, as time is required to allow the cutting to consolidate. From .this point to the end of the work at the northern end the work has been let and is under way, with the exception of a short cutting. About three or four miles of the road at the Mahoenui end is quite ready except that it has not been metalled. This should not be delaved because the road gives access to a soldiers’ settlement, the soldiers oeing compelled to sledge out their cream. There is no dearth of metal. The road is cut practically through metal, whilst in the river bed is shingle sufficient to metal the whole of the roads of the backblocks. The total length of the road from the Awakino dairy factory to the Mahoenui end is about 18 miles, saving about

six miles over the tortuous Taumatamaire; it is perfectly flat and safe, and runs through beautiful bush throughout. In many respects the scenery, which has wisely been protected, is like that on the Mokau River. As a motorist route it must become very popular. MORE MACHINERY, MORE MEN. But if this new road is to be made available at an early date the Government must put on more men and more labor. At present there are only about ten men on the southern and thirty on the northern end. It has been shown that it is possible to finish the work well within a year if the Government will but treat the work as one of urgency, and concentrate upon it. Present measures are by no means sufficient. They will take too long, and time is the essence of the contract in . * this most important matter. Every 0 month that the road remains unopened * means a direct loss to all concerned. The other obstacle to inter-eommuni-ration between the provinces—Mount Messenger—is being rapidly removed, the Public Works staff having already metalled the southern side and the worst parts of the northern, so that the hHI even to-day can be negotiated in any weather in perfect safety. A good job, too, is being made of it, the gradients being improved and the corners reduced. Indeed, the Department ie to be congratulated upon what it has done here, and the energy and enterprise it has displayed. Were the same methods applied to the Lower Awakino, the road, and a first-class one at that, would be through by the end of the present year, and then it would be possible to travel from New Plymouth to Te Kuiti, a distance of, roughly, 150 miles, in six hours over a route that can justly be described as one of the most picturesque and interesting to be found in the Dominion. BRIDGING THE MOKAU. The unbridged Mokau River, of course, remains a bar to free inter-communi-cation, and a very serious disadvantage to settlers, who have to swim their stock over. What loss this represents can only bft appreciated by a fanner who has had the experience, but it can be said without reservation that the cost of the bridge has been paid many times over by the farmers of the district in the last decade. It is a work of first national importance, and should not be delayed a day longer than necessary. Taranaki’s progress is largely, bound , up with the improvement ot this road C and the bridging of the Mokau, for they will enable farmers in the back districts to send through their stock to the hgtural centre, and traders here to send in supplies at a minimum cost. Foi this reason it is to be hoped every effort will be made, firstly, to urge the Government to redouble its efforts on the Lower Awakino road; secondly, to continue its good work in metalling Mt. Messenger and the road right through to Awakino; and, thirdly, take steps immediately to construct a bridge over the Mokau.