MOUNT ALBERT ROAD

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 293, 11 December 1929, Page 14

MOUNT ALBERT ROAD

MOUNT ROSKILL'S SHARE,

PROPOSALS BY ENGINEER,

ADOPTED BY ROAD BOARD.

"Mr. J. Dawson, C.E., reported to the Mount Roskill Eoad Board last evening that the Main Highways Board was very much dissatisfied with the present system of maintaining the Mount Albert Road, and had discussed with him an alternative proposal which would involve the expenditure of more money than was left in the balance of the allocation. It was proposed to run the grader over the road for.a: width of 26 feet in order to trim the, surface up to a uniform shape, dress the road with fin chips for a width of 26 feet, and immediately dress the chips with pme suitable blinding.material and roll for a distance of 180 chains from Crown Street to the Mount Albert boundary, and Vincent Road, a distance of about 60 chains, in a similar manner about 10 feet wide, parallel with the Mount Albert .concrete pavement. The estimate to carry out this work was about .i; 950, and • the amount required to adequately maintain the work when completed up to March 3.1 next by keeping the grader constantly on the road raking back loose chips scattered by traffic, was £150, making a total of £1100 to be. spent jointly by both ' boards. ' Mr. Dawson remarked' that there was still something over* £200 of unexpended allocation in hand, so that if the scheme were adopted it would be necessary to find the difference between this sum and £366. 13/4.

He had been assured by Mr. McFarland, engineer ,to the Main Highways Board, that he would have no difficulty in arranging with his board to find their quota of the extra money required, if Mount Roskill would do the same. Mr. . Dawson recommended the scheme to the hoard's favourable consideration last night, as he was convinced that the present method of. dressing the road with scoria was not economical.

Mr. G. E. Tansley opposed the adoption of the scheme as the cost of £1100 in about four months was out of all proportion to the benefits to be received. It would he hetter to ask the ratepayers to sanction a loan for paving Mount Albert Roard with concrete. He helieved they would approve of it if the modified scheme were placed before them and the amount of subsidy to be obtained from the Main Highways Board made known.

Mr. S. J. Goodall did not think it would he any use "touching" the ratepayers for another loan so soon after the last poll on the same question. He suggested placing the engineer's scheme hefore the ratepayers, with the concrete proposal as 'an alternative. Mr. E. A. Pearce thought the hoard should direct its efforts to Three Kings Road, instead of Mount Albert Road. The latter was chiefly ior tourists, while Three Kings Road was.a natural avenue to the city through Mount Eden from Mount Roskill.

In further discussion it hecame apparent that the hoard would have to adopt Mr. Dawson's scheme in order to get the subsidy from the Main Highways Board. This was agreed to on the motion of Mr. Tansley,- together with a suggestion to the finance and works committees that they should take the necessary steps towards bringing the larger scheme of Mount Albert Road before the ratepyaers.