5—D. 1.

D.—l

The following statement shows the total expenditure by the Board in each Island on both maintenance and construction for the financial year ended 31st March, 1941, the latter including renewals. The figures take into account administration charges, but exclude interest on highways loans: —

Maintenance. The total, maintenance expenditure by the Board and by local authorities amounted to £1,202,125, compared with £1,453,280 the previous year. It will thus be observed that the decrease under this heading is considerable, amounting to £251,155. The average cost per mile was £97-1, as compared with £117-6 in 1939-40. The feature mostly responsible for the reduced cost of maintenance has been reduction in traffic caused mainly by the imposition of petrol restrictions throughout the entire year. The increasing length of sealed surfacing has no doubt also had an effect in reducing the cost of maintenance, but with new sealing-works having to be almost entirely suspended on account of financial limitations, the progressive reduction in maintenance costs on this account does not promise to continue in the immediate future. The number of motor-vehicles registered actually showed a decrease as compared with the previous year, the respective figures being 313,087 and 317,526. This is the first time that there has been a reduction in the number of motor-vehicles registered in any one year compared with the preceding year. Flood damage cost the Board £159,707, and after reviewing the expenditure for a number of years past it might bo said that the year was an average one in this respect. There has been a tendency for increased cost of materials, as well as a wage increase of 5 per cent., and but for these factors maintenance costs would have shown a still further reduction. After reviewing all the relative influences, the Board is satisfied that the cost of maintenance for the year under review is reasonable. The highways over the entire system have been maintained in a satisfactory condition. Efforts have been made to keep maintenance-costs down without allowing the standard to drop. As in past years, a number of complaints of faulty maintenance were investigated, but satisfactory explanations were' made in all cases, or the position promptly rectified. The Board proposes investigating maintenance-costs to see whether any further reduction in such costs is possible without reducing the standard of upkeep. It has always been one of the foremost points in the Board's policy to preserve its assets, and maintenance to a good standard is recognized as being essential in this respect.

Table 1.—Maintenance of Main and State Highways (including Bridges).

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Expenditure Total Percentage Expendrture Ren ™ ala Expenditure Expenditure Maintenance. and , T?i an( j ™ Construction. each Island. £ £ £ North Island 771,035 1,007,476 1,778,511 62-13 South Island .. .. .. 377,442 706,566 1,084,008 37-87 Totals .. .. 1,148,477 1,714,042 2,862,519 100-00

Expenditure. Average per Mile per Annum. Highway District. iMa^a fned. Local "J Z 7"T"~5 J ~7 \~A J « J" Board. Authori- Total. -* * « cococoeocoww fi OQ « i if i 1,1 i f i ties. © os co i- co >o w co i cci i-h ■rococo cocoweocococo Ol CS Ci Cl Oi Ol C» OS o> ro tHrHrH ,_( ,h t-I H iH H T-t M. oh. £ £ £ ££££££££££ 1. Auckland North.. 839 78 62,004 8,180 70,184 83-6 111-2 100-7 115-1 93-2 110-1 97-9 71 -G 01 -2 79-2 2. Auckland South.. 1,514 81 129,391 22,106 15.1,497 100-0 123-7 129-2 126-2 119-3 181-4 141-1 124-6 1.06-9 145-3 3. Tauranga .. 710 67 98,858 4,373 103,231145-2 216-7 158-8 128-4 84-3 153-1 87-1 72-9 (il-9 70-7 4. Gisborne .. 396 72 70,446 5,208 75,654 190-6 214-2 266-5 215-2 182-9 1.78-1 164-9 106-4 96-3 117-3 5. Napier .. 735 45 77,471 8,216 85,687 116-5 147-9 285-6 99-6 82-4 138-9 117-7 81-4 79-3 75-9 6. King-country .. 604 30 78,872 8,413 87,285144-4 152-8 113-0 95-3 116-5 89-2 99-7 70-8 57-1 70-0 7. Taranaki .. 474 17 58,347 4,020 62,367131-5 117-8 122-1 94-7 104-1 123-4 102-5 83-8 84-5 125-2 8. Wanganui .. 533 49 63,733 5,101 68,834 129-0 147-4 157-1 152-5 115-9 122-0 87-5 80-8 66-0 101-0 9. Wellington West 522 59 41,744 7,133 48,877 93-5 152-9 105-7 102-9 121-9 164-1 124-7 106-0 110-8 149-8 10. Wellington East 504 41 35,351 10,122 45,473 90-1 104-1 88-9 89-4 108-0 175-3 181-3 114-9 91-4 128-6 Totals, North Island 6,837 9 716,217 82,872 799,089116-9 144-5 149-5 119-7 109-0 143-2 118-3 91-3 81-0 104-5 11. Nelson .. 682 38 54,518 4,822 59,340 86-9 115-0 108-5 99-2 80-3 116-8 101-1 74-1 06-6 103-6 12. West Coast .. 572 78 83,530 5,798 89,328155-9 .171-6 157-4 145-5 141-8 214-5 142-6 110-8 104-1 136-7 13. Canterbury North 391 70 30,487 2,705 33,192 84-7 91-6 83-8 92-8 64-3 62-8 55-7 58-3 50-0 55-4 14. Canterbury Central 762 1 36,263 7,075 43,338 56-9 68-1 71-2 63-1 54-6 8.1-1 55-2 50-9 50-2 76-5 15. Canterbury South 834 15 34,447 6,203 40,650 48-7 52-9 58-3 52-6 54-0 96-7 66-9 59-3 67-0 78-7 16. Otago Central .. 842 49 38,138 8,067 46,205 54-8 65-9 66-5 53-8 49-5 70-1 75-1 50-3 46-4 52-8 17. Otago South .. 529 17 27,052 8,219 35,271 66-6 66-8 96-6 76-5 62-8 97-8 84-6 73-8 72-8 99-5 18. Southland .. 928 73 46,172 9,540 55,712 60-0 73-7 61-5 74-8 57-2 57-1 53-9 44-4 41-H 43-2 Totals, South Island 5,544 21 350,607 52,429 403,036 72-7 84-7 83-5 77-9 67-5 96-2 77-6 62-7 60-3 77-4 Totals, Dominion . . 12,38130 1,066,824135,301 1,202,125 97-1 117-6 119-9 101-2 90-5 122-4 100-3 78-5 70-7 92-5