Engineer's Report.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3536, 14 June 1890, Page 2

Engineer's Report.

-The Mowing report of the Erfgineer of the .WairSriiipa Nbrth County •CoUDoiiwaa; road ;■■■ and': adopted', at the meeting held'onThufßdaylaßtr;',

,)f aiinata load—Maßterlon to Tanew seotion.-T-Tlie Council will sea by a communication from Messrs Murray j .Roberts & Co, with reference to a proposed gravel reserve on the Te Ore Ore estate, that by placing a. prohibitive value upon the land in question they practically decline to entertain the Council's application to purchase a reserve. The effect of this decision will" be to curtail by approximately one third the amount of surface improvement under which reasonable • circumstances. it. would have been possiblo*to perform on. the Te Ore Ore.seotjpn of- the line, and will entail 'an. additional cost of 'at.

least fourteenpenee per yard on all materials required for repairing those sebtions which were iormerly supplied from the old pits on this estate. This, Iwould point out,;is a serious bandi-: cap to thia-road, as'judging by the past month's experience; the looal relaxation of the rwheel '• tire by-law■' promises to be productive of coajMsri able additional damage'# tlie roads in this locKh'ty...'- ".:,.\ : ''.-'\.'."^ ) t : Waingawa. to.. Camp "road—A small con'traojj for.stone breaking'.hag been let on this line, uponcompletion c»,which refiairs, will £ ba proceeded : withvon thoße sections which most urgently need attention.- ■ ll.CAsiLßPoiin 1 . Eidino—Masterton to Waimataßoad(Mangapakehato Whakataki section.) A. contract is. now in course of preparation for constructing handrails on several of; the bridges ;ih tliis Biding. ',:Theabsenceof these for 'some'time'past has been to a more or leas extent a source, of danger to certain' descriptions of traffic, and their omission was only! necessitated by motives of economy at the timn the bridges were originally constructed. Akiiio Ridiko.—Masterton to Waimata, Boad. The necessary information, has only just been received which will enable the. But* ; vey of the Oahanga ferry-reserve to be proceeded with, I propose visiting the coast on this account in the ; early part of the ensuing week.

Alfredton Bidiso.—Ekotahuna . to Tinui Road Contrabfc'No 21 (Hoad formation). In addition to considerable subsidence in the heavier embalmments, several heavy landslips have occurred on this contract, whioh latter will oeeupj a week or so in their removal. The contraot maintenance term will expire on the 14th July next.' Contract No 28, (Bridge building), Some minor works still remain to be performed before this contraot ■ oan be taken off the contractor's hand. Contract No. 21. (Road-forma-tion), Progress on this contract has been somewhat retarded of late owing to the brokeu weathev. Section No. 1, which embraces the lighter portion of the work,.is well advanced towards

completion, ■ and on section 1 No.' 2 a length of approximately 15 ohains out of a total of 41 chains has been I blocked out in the rough,» Opaki to Manawatu road. Con-. tract No. 27. (Street-formation Bketahuna township)/This contraot, with certain exceptions sanctioned by the Gonnoil, was completed on the 80th May, and will be maintained by the contractor till the 80th June. The exceptions alluded to were embodied in a recommendation to the Council in. my report of the work ■ for the month' of- April last, and-; applied to the finishing off of the south end of the street formation &o„ with the Opaki to Manawatu coaoh road, In accordance with the Council's instructions I now place before you the modified estimates for the current year's road maintenance, The. reductions required: in ithe.tseveral ridings have been made on the items on eaoh line which could be eliminated with least detriment to the roadßj; at the same-time the fact cannot be disguised that these reductions must materially affect the, standard of etfioienoy of. the lines.'jthe traffic upon whioh is annually increasing while the means of maintaining them is regularly reduced to considerably within their most urgent requirements. With the reduced expenditure, I have little doubt that traffic will be sustained with little inconvenience, but it is not to be oxpected that this increasing strain can bo continued without the roads Bhewing appreciable deterioration by the close of the year.