WAIRAU BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 51, 2 March 1926, Page 8

WAIRAU BRIDGE.

QUESTION OF LOCATION.

INQUIRY BY COMMISSION. TWO EIVAL SITES. Whether Craig Road or Inga Road should be the point at which a bridge shall fee constructed across the W T airau Creek was the question investigated today at a. commission of inquiry. The inquiry was conducted by Mr. W. S. Short, formerly Under-Secretary of Public Works, and was held at the Chamber of Commerce. The parties were the Waitemata County Council, represented by Mr. R. McVeagh, and the Takapuna Borough Council, for which Mr. F. Lowrie appeared. An inspection of the two sites was made yesterday by the commissioner and counsel for the rival parties. Mr. Short, the commissioner, stated that the estimates of costs submitted were: £5930 for the Craig Road site and £683(3 for the Inga Road site, the allocation being 7.5 per cent for the county council and 25 per cent for the borough council.

Arguments for and against the adoption of the rival sites "were placed before the commissioner, who • suggested that, with a view to shortening the proceedings as much as possible, the parties should agree whether or not the pro posed bridge was necessary. Takapuna submitted that it was not agreed upon its necessity.

On the question of navigation the Marine Department intimated that it was willing to sanction either site.

Mr. McVeagh signified that the County Council was prepared to abide by its claim of 25 per cent against the Borough Council for the Craig Road site.

A"s the County Council had moved in the matter originally, they were regarded as the plaintiffs in the inquiry.

"Very Long Controversy."

Mr. McYeagh, in opening, said the inquiry was the culmination of a very long , controversy between the two bodies. It arose as far back as 1914, when the present sitting Commissioner was authorised to make an inquiry. At that time it was determined what should be the clearance of the bridge above the tidf level. The controversy had continued right down to the present day, and the bridge had not been built. The present mode of access to the portion of the county affected by the proposed bridge was by way of an old wopden structure at the foot of Sheriff's Hill. That bridge was at the bottom of a steep gradient of one in twelve. Settlement was proceeding very rapidly, and the difficulty that the traffic had to contend with had been loudly voiced. It was imperative to have "that state of affairs remedied. Most people preferred to cross the Wairau estuary with horses and carts and even on foot at low water to proceed to Murray's Bay, Castor Bay and the six other bays in that part of the county.

The parties had endeavoured to arrive at an agreement, but all effort's had failed. Eighteen months ago a scheme was devised for the construction of a bridge at Craig Road. Opposition arose, and an inquiry was held in Auckland in June last, when a good deal of evidence was called, at the conclusion of which a valiant but futile effort was again made to come to an understanding. The proposal was to erect a bridge with a clearance of 15 feet above high water and 30 feet lateral clearance. It involved construction of approaches on each side.