DOMINION ROAD BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 181, 30 July 1912, Page 4

DOMINION ROAD BRIDGE.

WIDTH TO BE DOUBLED. A _n_J_TI-___-_OT__R? LOAN. The bridge in Dominion Road over the railway line us to be enlarged to twice its present width., the Mount Eden Borough Council having decided at, a com- - raj-tee meeting which, followed the monthly meeting last night to take the necessary steps to finance the works. There has been a long-standing promise made by a former Minister for Railways to 'the effect that the Railway Department would widen the bridge to the boundaries of the railway line when the Borough Council was prepared to proceed with tho widening of the approaches. It has also been understood that the Auckland Tramways Company, Li__ited, were willing, when such work was executed, to duplicate the tram line between 1 the bridge (near the junction with the j King-lard, line) and the end of the second section from the city, namely, Valley | Road. The decision arrived at by tne Mount Eden Council last night will, therefore, have the effect of setting in motion some works of groat iirportan.-o to the. residents of the Dominion Rood district. The fact may be mentioned that the Dominion Road line Las for a long while been carrying the greater part of the tram traffic in the Mount Eden district, which now has an estimated population of 10.000 people. The Dominion Road line lis acknowledged to have increased It. j traffic at a greater rate during recent I years than that of any other suburb 'of Auckland. One reason for this, per- ; haps, is that apart from catering for a I large residential ares, on the eastern | , side, towards the Mount Eden line, the ; i Dominion Road service provides locomo- j ! tion for the people of a large portion of I I Mount Albert and a paTt of Mount Roskill. In short, the large volume of traffic |is considered to fully justify a double [line. I In order to finance the proposal th? \ Borough Council decided last night to ! ava.il itself of The privileges conferred by !lhe Loans to Public Bodies Act, whereby lit is made possible for a local body to | augment a loan by subsequently raising I a snppli mon-tnry loan lo the extent of ten per cent oi the original loan. Some ; few months a.go the Mount Eden Council, acting on the authority given by a poll of ratepayers, raised a loan through ttie (jovcT_.ir.-ii. of A.'.'< 1.700, for the purpose lof street improvements end other pubLfj works such as the erection of Council ! Chambers, public -baths, etc. Ten per i cent, of this total is £3.170, and by resolution last night the Council decided to jiaise the equivalent of this sum per I medium of trie supplementary Governmont loan with which to do its share of ! the bridge-widening scheme. The Govl ernrient was recently approached with ] the object of obtaining its consent to the ! further loan proposal, and this has been . forthcoming. I When the bridge has been enlarged, it J will be 06ft. wide, and the roadway , approaches will be widened proportionI ately. Tho, cost of the work cannot be stated until the Department has decided i what form of construction will be j adopted. The hope is expressed by mem- | bers of the Mount Eden Council that it I will be made a ferro-concrete structure. |In any case the expenditure of a sum «>nuiva.lent to £3000 by the Council 1 should have the effect of greatly improving a locality which is becoming more land more important as a business centre.