FINALITY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 85, 11 April 1931, Page 7

FINALITY.

WATERFRONT ROADWAY. READY TO BE TAKEN OVER. INTIMATION TO CITY COUNCIL DEPARTMENTAL DECISION.

The waterfront road is now virtually completed, and this morning the city engineer (Mr. J. Tyler) was officially notified by the Public Works Department that it was ready for the Auckland City Council to take over control and maintain.

The letter pointed out that the Public Works Department had acted in the capacity of an agent employed by the Lands Department and the City Council to construct the road. Except for the purposes of such construction the Department had no funds for maintenance of the road," traffic control, or other services necessary for a road in continual use. Mr. F. S. Dyson, District Engineer for the Public Works Department, stated that a very careful inspection had been made of -the road, and it was his considered opinion that it was now ready to open for traffic. Only minor matters reaiained to be fixed, which could easily be completed when the road was in use. First Intimation. Mr. Tyler said it was the first intimation that the City Council had received fiom the Public Works Department that the road was in a position to be taken over. It was now a question for the council to decide whether responsibility would be taken before dedication. He saw no reason why the road should not be now thrown open. It would be a great convenience, not only to residents, but also to motorists and others. In his opinion buses and any other clas3 of vehicles should be allowed to use the road. There was still a fair amount of work to be done in the way of defining boundaries, but that should not cause any delay. Lighting Requirements.

Discussing lighting requirements, Mr. Tyler said that electric cables had already been laid for part of the distance and that the work would be gone 011 with as rapidly as possible For the whole length of the road speciallydesigned cast-iron columns, 15 feet high and 100 yards apart, would be erected on the outer kerb line, the lamps being of 250 c.p. each. The reason for placing the lamps on the outer kerb line was that provision had been made for a grass-margin and also for trees from King's Drive to Hobson Point, and the work of putting soil' down for the grass was already in hand. • Work Being Done. At present there is a section of the work under construction at Kohimarama. Good progress has been made, and practically the whole of the filling has been deposited up to the junction of the Waterfront Road with the main Kohimarama Road. A rough stone wall has been built to retain the filling, and a portion of the sea-face wall has been constructed. It is aiiticipated that the section will be completed in the course of the next three months. Until then traffic will proceed from and to Mission Bay via Patteson Avenue; Raumati Road and Selwyn Road to its junction with the main Kohimarama Road. Heavy Work. Mr. Tyler stated that the work that they were doing on the section cjose to the, Kohimarama wharf was one of the heaviest pieces of construction in the sevjen sections for which the City Council jtook responsibility. An old dedicated roald was in existence, but was not suitable for bus traffic. The roadway had to be increased to a width of 40ft between the kerbs.

The works committee will consider the question of taking over the road at its meeting on Thursday. There is every likelihood of the road being used for general traffic this week. Works Committee. ,Mr. J. Dempsey, chairman of the works committee of the City Council, stated this afternoon that there would be certain questions arising out oi the completion of the road to consider in the interests of the ratepayers. "We will have to determine whether the road is lit to take over," he said, "but there is a probability that no objection will be raised to the running of traffic pending dedication. I want to see the road open at the earliest possible moment, but there must be security. Last Thursday morning there was a good deal of material lying about, and we will have to be quite sure that the road is safe for traffic before we assume responsibility. If everything is clear we will no doubt sanction the opening of the road. I suppose we will- be able to come to an amicable arrangement with the Public Works Department over anything that is outstanding." Mr. Dempsey mentioned that ; ".he council had sanctioned heavier traffic on the Orakei roads than their vonstruction warranted. This had been done "to help things along," but the cost of reconditioning was going to be heavy. "Now that the Watergront Road is complied," he added, "the traffic will keep on the flat instead of going over the hills, and we will have to give a good deal of consideration to the question of maintenance."