COUNTY ROADS.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 6485, 11 September 1915, Page 4

COUNTY ROADS.

SUPERVISOR'S REPORT.

The following report on county roads i was submitted by Mr W. J. Gray, \ supervisor, to the last meeting of the |' County Council: — j Katikati. s \ Hikurangi Gorge—lmmediately after j last meeting I saw the fublic Wo ks j Engineer over thi3 and went through j to see for myself. It was certainly in I a bad state. Mr Hannah said he woild : go through and see it, and would have j it repaired and kept passable, but did | not see how much could be done until ; they got stone-breaking machinery in I the Gorge, which they would hsve to : do to get ballast. Since then a lot of j work has been done and it is improved, j Six chains of metalling still to fio j for which the stone"is ready and this j willl finish up grant and loan moneys i in this riding. I Te Puna. j In this riding, on main road, there j are three or four swamps in the ceigh- j bourhood of the Corkscrew that should j be raised and widened during *.he ! coming summer. I expect to get the | metalled portion near Wainui repaired ! this month. j Te Puna-Omckoroa road or< Separate ; Rate Account. —The culverts and re- j pairs ordered last meeting have been j done, but another three culverts would j be useful. The deviation let to Mr ! Francis some time ago is nearing | completion. I expect the road machine to be at work in this district next week. Wairoa Bridge.— Temporary repairs made at Te Puna md about two years ago then intended to carry the traffic for about one year. I think it should be overhauled and strengthened, as it may be some time before we are allowed to use the new bridge. Settlers are grumbling on wet days about the temporary track being | slippery. The earthwork of approaches to the new hr idge is almost completed. This, the Wiimapu and, have taken over from the contractor. Te Puna end till requires a litt'e work done to it.

Kaimai —About twelve months ago you said I could use £20 in falling bush to try and improve a steep clayey piece of this road. Correspondence has been going on slowly since and the owners of the land that the bush is on want so much in the shape of us sowing the land with grass, or they ignore us altogther and don't answer. I think we had better drop this and as there is no manuka available fcr fascines, the next best thing to do is to corduroy about fifteen chians of the I worst of it. This I expect will cost about £3 per chain. Te Puke. Main road.—We have used up the Government | ernment grant on Long Swamp. 1 here is still about ten chains of it wants doing. Perhaps we might do it out of the next grant, but this lam not at all sure about. In about a week of dry weather all the metal available on this road will be in position. The grader is triers now, doing up the last couple of miles of it. j We are getting out a little stone i for repairs as directed at Welcome Bay. Te Puke-Ngavvaro Road—From where we carried out some work about two yearg ago above the creamery on No. 1 road on th rough the bush near Otanewainuku to Ngawaro: The Roads Department have for some time been insisting we should repair this, which is certainly in.a bad way. We have been trying to argue that it is the Te Puke Road Board should do it. However, it has been definitely pointed out to me that two and a half or three miles of it is in Te Puke Outlying. I would like instructions to use, say, £50 on this. This j will about make it passable, certainly j not put it in good order. Maketu. The question of pumice reserves has gone a little further during last month. In one case the natives refused to allow some of our men to take pumice and when the dray was loaded they tipped it up and put them out of the pit, so our foreman Graham informs me.

Last meeting some of our Councillors wanted an idea of- the cost of forming proposed piece of road alongside the railway line near M,aketu turn-off. Actual new work would be about 45 chains, with a very deep filling to start with, but I think if we say £300 it would be sufficient.

Main road at Mr Stokea' farm, —We have arranged with the District Engineer about this; ten chains, say 200 yards of stone, at half usual price, and some of it should be on the ground now.

Of Government grants in this.riding there is now only the little job near 37 mile post. About 3£ miles of filling and a culvert to put in and this will complete last session's grants.

There is about five miles of main

It was decided that the supervisor furnish estimates of the cost of improv ing embankment in the Te Puna district.

The supervisor was authorised to road in thi9 neighbourhood want sgoing over and improving.

effect necessary repaid to the old bridge over the Wairoa river. JjCr Lochhead said complaints had been made regarding the state of the hili on the eastern side of the Wairoa bridge. —The matter was referred to the supervisor.