ROAD CONSTRUCTION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9119, 19 June 1908, Page 3

ROAD CONSTRUCTION.

A MORE VIGOROUS POLICY.

The Government intends shortly to adopt a more vigorous policy of road construction than has obtained for some years past. In addition to other ordinary votes for roads a specialfundof £200,000 a year is to be devoted to the making of a number of roads which are to be shown on a map as the work of construction proceeds. Last year Parliament appropriated £423.785 for roads. The sum actually expended was about £350,000. I It is anticipated that a large area of bush land will be thrown open for settlement during the next few years as a result of the labours of the Native Land Commission, and, in order to give access to the sections increased appropriations will have to be made. In theory, road access has for many years past been given to all, land disposed of by the Government for settlement purposes, but in practise that excellent intention has not always been carried out. The mistake has been that roads have followed settlement (often a long time after), instead of preceding it. One reason foe this has no doubt been that which naturally appeals to a party leaderno voting supnort was to be gained by making roads to blocks before settlement; whereas if the land were disposed of first, the settlers were pi iced under an objection to the GoVJ.'ument for grantj from the public treasury for roads. , Another reason w.u the desiie of people to get to work on the land as,quickly as possible, and sometimes to avoid keener to npetition for the sections, becax e t lere are always more applications when road acess is provided. The policy of the present Ministir of Lands is to have access given to every block of land that is put upon the market and an emphatic declaration has been made by him to that effect. This question primarily affects tha large areas of bush land in the North Island, and to a limited extent it also affects Nelson. As part of a more vigorous road construction policy, the Government has under consideration a proposal to' devote a considerable sum every year bridle-tracks to dray road width. In the haste to get land settled in past years, only brirlte-tracks access was given to many bush s;c;ions. It is estimated that there are alojt 600 miles of bridle-tracks which urgently reciuire wLlening. The number of tracks included in this scheme for the present is about 200. The idea is ttiat every settler should as soon as possible have bullock-dray or "dirtroad," access to his section. Metallin* can follow after. If this is done, it is expected that the bitter cry of the back-blocks *etiler will be very much reduced—."Post."