Road Maintenance.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4754, 22 June 1894, Page 2

Road Maintenance.

Wairarapa North County. Tho following is fiom the lepoit of the" County Engineei, Mr 0. E Bremnei "Attached vull be found the estimates of pioposed oxpendittues foi tho cunent year fOl maintaining and improving the mam County, and othoi loads uudei tho control of tho Council I legiet that these noie not befoio tho Council a month ago, but in has been impossible with tho incieased uoik inland to have them i eady cai hei Tho usual statements aio also gnen, No 1 showing tho cost per mile, etc, 1 esultmg fiom tho total maintenance expenditure on the various main lines for the past year; and No. 2 shewing the extent of new works porfomied on themiby loan or separate rate expenditure dwing.the same period. In the expenditure of [tho separate rates, due care has been exercised and an effortmado to economise so faraspossible, notwithstanding whieh,disbursenients on necessary works in the various Ridings have exceeded;; in .all! Raises the amounts passed by the Councilfor-expendi-ture during'the year,by the following amounts:—Masterloii Riding, £267 7s 4d j Wainuiorii Biding, £65 Is sd; OastlepoinF Riding, £BB''4s'2d; Eketahuna Riding, £B2 17s 3d; Alfrcdton Riding,. £35; 2s lid; Akitio Riding, £411757 d ' In the Mastertou Riding the oyer : draft has been incurred in connection with building the new bridge over.the Kopiiaranga River at Dorset's clear; ing and protective works in the Ruamahunga River, at To : .Oro Ore, and in the other Ridings by tho employment of extra labor on, the roads repairing flood damages, which were of an exceptionally severe character, during last winter and spring,, .The inadequacy of the maintenance fund to cope with tho.ever increasing demands of traffic 'ilias been brought under the. Council's attention in previous reports, and in the back districts especially,, where every description of disadvantage exists, the deterioration of the roads is annually bearing evidence to this fact. On the statemeut below will bo seon tho mileage, and average; cost por mile, for maintenance, of the main roads in each Riding for the past year:—. '•'

■■«■■■»■. Si h " £sd £sd MnstcrtonEd'g 45f1159 18/4 25 3/1 Wainuiorn „ 9} 80111/8 42'6/6 Castlcpoint ~ 32}- 881! 10/4 27 9/9 Alcitio „ 41 213 5 311 Ekctahuua „ 21 522 3/9 2117/8 Alfrcdton „ 13} 402 99 '2O 5/8

This gives a totalaverage foraaiutenanco of £2115s 4d per mile over the 164} miles of main ioads iu' tlie County distributed among the various descriptions of work, in ■ the following proportions:—Road maintenance by contract 17*2 per cent; day labor wages 34'6 per cent; metal supplies 2725 per cent; rivor protective works 5'85 per cent; timber supplies 6;9 per cent;'miscellaneous 10'2 per cent. The total quantity of gravel kid down during the year for surfaco patching and general repairs has been 6351 cube yards, and 303 cubic yards of broken stones the former at au average costof 3s Ojd per cubic yard, the latter at 5s ljd per cubic yard, For repairs to bridges andculverts 19,530 feet of timber has been used exclusive of that utilised in the construction of the new Kopuaranga bridge, the additions to.the Tenui bridge and timber connected with river protective works. Eight contracts have been let on the main lines during the year; 1 for protective works; 2 bridges; 1 bridge painting; 3 road metalling and 1 road formation,

The road maintenance contracts as reportedon at intervals during tho year,haveuotworkedso satisfactorily as could have been desired, but with the modifications 'introduced into the obtained contracts recently let, it is hoped that better results may be in future,

It will be seen by rofereiico to the estimates for the Masterton Riding that provisions is made for purchasing a_ stone-crusher, and I believe that if tho proposal is given offect to, it will help materially towards the ultimate economy in the cost of maintaining the roads in the district surrounding Masterton. _ Theworksperfornicdbyth'eConncil in the merged road districts, outside local bodies, have been very largely increased during the past year, the expenditure aggregating to several thousands of pounds, and have been a very heavy tax on the time of the staff both in tho field as well as in the office, and have, I regret, precluded tho possibility at times of that regularand constant supervision of many of tho works whioh is so desirable and essential to their proper fulfilmout.-I am etc., \ 0. E, Bremxer.