CHEVIOT COUNTY COUNCIL

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21247, 20 August 1934, Page 4

CHEVIOT COUNTY COUNCIL

The monthly meeting of the Cheviot County Council was attended by Cars. Hiatt Rutherford, Stevenson, Foster, McGiffert, and McLaren. A motion of sympathy with Cr. J. S. Douglas in the death of his father, Mr James Douglas, was carried. The Main Highways Board, Wellington, advised that the issue of permits to operate heavy traffic vehicle loads in excess of those permitted on classified highways, had been investigated. It had been found that, where it was desired to operate a vehicle over a route lying in several counties, the operator had to obtain a permit to exceed the classification from each separate county council. This was considered unreasonable, and it had been suggested that a permit to covfer the whole of such a route should be issued by the Main Highways Board. The council decided to agree to the Highways Board's proposals in this respect. The board's representative in Christchurch advised that the plans and specifications of the proposed protective groynes at Gore Bay had been examined by the Main Highways Board. The proposals generally were approved. The board considered it might be better to commence with groynes 32 feet long, and to extend the groynes when their effect was known. A further letter from the board was received advising that it was proposed to take a traffic census throughout the highway system of the Dominion. The co-operation of local authorities was desired, and the council was asked to arrange for a tally of traffic to be taken at the Leader bridge, PictonBluff main highway. It was agreed to' arrange for the tally to be taken. Hurumif-Blythe Road Mr J. S. Souter, Domett, wrote complaining of the delay in commencing the construction of the proposed Huru-nui-Blythe" road. His present egress over an unformed road practically isolated him for the winter. It was agreed to advise Mr Souter that preparations for the formation of this road were being proceeded with as fast as possible, there being a number of involved details to be attended to before any work could be commenced. The engineer reported having been in communication with the Local Government Loans Board about the procedure necessary in raising a loan for the construction of the road. It would be necessary for the council to obtain the board's sanction to borrow before procuring the ratepayers' consents. Accordingly, it was resolved to give ! public notice that the council intended to apply to the Loans Board for sane tion to borrow up to £3700 for legalising and fencing the proposed road, and 1 to call for objections to the proposal The engineer was instructed to pre-i pare plans for the construction of the Castaly river bridge (Leader-Wajaij highway), Marchlaw' stream culvter£ (Gore Bay highway), and the road bridge. lie is then to bring down, reports on the proposed tar-sealing! ofj the Hui'unui to the Cheviot secmonj of the Picton-BlufV highway, and* a,< proposal to bridge the Lower Leamington river at Spotswood. The engineer (Mr A. R. Callander) reported that during July a small)

amount of gravelling, amounting to 41 cubic yards, had been done between Cheviot and Spotswood on the PictonBluff highway. An unusual job on the same road had been the removal of from four to seven inches of snow from the Leader river to Conway river section at the beginning of the month. The work had been done quickly with the power grader, and was of great assistance to traffic. Patrol grading had been done for 25 days and a half on this road, and a 15-inch culvert had been installed near the concrete bridge over the South Island main trunk railway formation. The Cheviot-Mina and j Cheviot-Gore Bay highways had each been graded twice, and on the latter road scrubi had been cut back to improve visibility. The Leader-Waiau | highway had also beon graded. In the ridings metal had been placed on Gower road. Sinclair road. Downs' road, Waiau West road, and Kaiwarra road.