WAIPA COUNTY. Engineer's Report on County Roads, 31st May, 1883. (Concluded.)

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1701, 31 May 1883, Page 2

WAIPA COUNTY. Engineer's Report on County Roads, 31st May, 1883. (Concluded.)

Tiie bridge over the Mangaohoe on this road is dangerous owing to three (3) planks having given way. Thi3 should be attended to at once, and the cutting going up the bill to Rangiaobia repaired, it being in a very disgraceful state. Three days' work would do all that is necessary. It will be necessary to have the main road defined from the northwest corner of lot 16 to the north-east corner of lot 193. The easterly road, although longer slightly, is decidedly the better traffic road of the two. From Rangiaohia to the Mangapiko bridge nothing requires to be done just now except to do up the approaches, which are badly rutted ; three days' labour would do all required. The swamp road from Mangapiko to Rotornngi is at present in fair condition, there being a few very bad holes here and there, which should be fascined and covered with sand. Some repairs have been done here lately, but in some instances surface earth has been put on top of the fascines. This sort of tiling should be discouraged, ns the earth will all turn into mud when the rain comes. This road will not stand any heavy traffic this winter. In order to make it good, early next summer a coating of clay should be put on at the rate of 10 or 12 yards to the chain, and thin co\ ered agaiu with about the same quantity of sand. Next year a further topping up of sand should make a road equal to any m the district. The cutting going up Rotorangi hill is very bad, and needs repairing. The road over the hills is in fair order. From Rotorangi to Monavale the road is good enough, and quite able to carry what traffic it will be asked to do as far as I can find out. Anyhow it is much better than the RotordUgiMangapiko road. From Monavale to Cambridge cross roads no fault can bo found with the road, the bridge approaches having been lately done up, but the bridge itself is urgently in need of four planks, and ought to have 14 ne\r ones to make the deck safe. There are now two nasty holes in the deck of the bridge, and many of the planks are extremely shaky. From the cross roads into Cambridge the road is very good. From the cross roads to the junction, with the OhaupoHamilton road, is undoubtedly the best road in the comity, and only requires to have the bridge approaches a little touched up to satisfy the most fastidious. From the junction to Ohaupo is now partly in the hands of contractors. From the junction to Hamilton. — Little work is required at this season, except the reconstruction of a small bridge near Hammond's old farm ; and at this place I would recommend a permanent brick culvert, 3ft. Gin. in diameter, and 25ft. long. Estimated cost, £50. From the Mill Creek towards Hamilton the board have applied for a loan of £500, of which £187 10s has been granted, and with this they purpose to gravel as much as they can, probably some 45 chains in length, leaving the balance of the gravelling and the cutting down of Johnson's hill until the rest of the money is forthcoming. Tk Awamutu to Oitaupo.— Road in fair order. Biidge over Mangapiko, loot of Taj'lor's hill, must be repaired at once as far as approaches are concerned. The water has w.ished in under the backing, the consequence being that the road has dropped, but the bridge itself has not moved at all. A few loads of gravel and a little fixing will set it right for the time being. Taylors hill requires a man on it for a few days to clean watertables, fill holes, kc. From here on towards Ohaupo little or nothing can be done at this season of the year, but the cleaning out of some of the water-tables should be seen to as soon as possible. From OjiAiirn to Alexandra. — I did not inspect this trip, as I quite forgot until too late that this was a main road at all. The principil woi k to be done, however, is to drain the flat near the bush on the flat. This can be done, lam sure, by putting in a good outfall drain, and the locality and direction of this will have to be determined by taking the levels. That plenty of fall is obtainable I Unow, having already taken rough levels in regard to lowering Lake Ngaroto, and I do not anticipate that the cost would bo very heavy. It is quite certain, however, that a good road will never be made until the water is drawn oft". I would suggest to the council that the best way to keep the various cuttings on. the road in good order would be to pay to some settler adjacent to such cuttings a small sum annually for keeping such cuttings in good repair. This method would, I feel sure, prove much the cheapest in the long run, as many n time, pai ticularly in bad weather, a few minutes work would save several pounds worth of damage. The matter too of employing surfacemen on the roads should receive the earnest consideration of the council, as I am convinced that the system is a good one, and will well repay the outlay. This, of course, would apply only where roads are already constructed, as the making of roads ought as a rule to be let by contract. On the map accompanying this, and on which the Government scheme of main roads is shown in red, I have marked in blue the roads actually in use, and those which in my opinion are really intended to be the main roads. In one instance (the road towards Orakau from the Kihikihi* Cambridge road) the line is shown along an uttpily impossible road line, one, indeed, which is more under water than over it during all the wet months. This, however, is a colonial road, and, therefore, not under the control of the county, but it would be advisable to inform the authorities of the fact, in order that they may remedy the error. In the first page of this report I stated that the county possessed 103£ miles of main roads, but to this must be added 10 miles hum Olinupv tv Alexanuiu, omitted in error. The approximate length of the main roads, therefore, is 113^ miles. Hamiltox-Whatawhata Main Road. — This road, which has been lately made with special grants from Government, will require a good deal of attention for some years to come, owing to the gradual subsidence of the swamp which is going on. The main outfall too has closed in and shrunk, and will have to be enlarged a good deal, the last heavy rains having overflowed the banks to a great extent. At present the worst part of the road is in and near the Whatawhata bush. This is all but impassable, and seems likelj^fcfc become quite, so if something be not doffs at once to drain it. I have got the levels taken, and find that a drain 43 chains long is required, cost, say £38 to £40, and a small bridge over the drain, which would cost £8 or £10. Thi3 is one of the most urgent works in the county, as it is necessary to keep open the communication between Raglan and the Waikato. The whole of the grant for the road has been/ spent, and, therefore, the Hamilton Rood Board is not in a position to tackle this most urgent work. On the rest of the road little or nothing cau be done at this season of the year. Yonr approach to the Whatawhata bridge is all right. T. G. Sandes, Engineer.

Mr John Knox will sell at the Hamilton Auction Mart on Saturday, produce, young pigs, and a handsome bay horse, Bee. Mr A. Connolly, Hamilton East, is prepared to break and train horses in the best style known, including Professor Sample's system. It is a curious fact, and one worthy o*' consideration at the hands of the stu den' a of life's anomalies, that a pretty woman who is chaste is seldom run after, white a woman who is rim after ia generally Jot oka.se, Eh ?