LEWIS PASS ROAD

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21639, 25 November 1935, Page 10

LEWIS PASS ROAD

NEW ADVANCE CAMP ESTABLISHED RAPID PROGRESS BEING MADE PERMANENT BRIDGE OVER HOPE RIVER Rapid progress is being made with the construction of the, Lewis Pass road, and it is anticipated that the work will be finished within' the next 18 months. Since the end of March, when the construction was taken over by the Public Works Department, about seven miles of road has been formed from the Hope river, leaving about 14 miles and a half to be done to reach the top of the pass. An advance camp has been established on the Canterbury side of the pass at the confluence of the Lewis and Boyle rivers, a little less than 11 miles from the top of the pass. It is now possible to go by motorcar nearly 27 miles from the junction of the road with the main highway to Hanmer Springs. The first 20 miles has been formed for some time, the work having been done before the project was made a public works job, and for this distance the road is well formed, and allows comfortable travelling. Parts of the road that has been built since March are in good order for travelling, but the rest offers rough going. The completion of the ,road will give new and convenient access to Greymouth, Westport, and Reefton, and also to Nelson. In addition, it will shorten the distance from Christchurch to all places north of Greymouth and to beyond Nelson by from 30 to 80 miles. The construction of the road does not require the use of any extensive plant, for the work is being done mostly by manual labour. As yet no extremely difficult or dangerous wo:k has been done, but the country through which the road has yet to' go >s such that the rate of progress from now on is likely to be slower.

Improvements to Road • For some years unemployed men have been engaged on the construction of the road from where it branches from the Hanmer Springs highway, and 20 miles had been completed when the Public Works Department took over. This part of the road to-day is in excellent condition, and is being very efficiently serviced. Considerable improvements have been made to it during the last two years, deviations have been constructed, the roadway widened until now there is ample room for two cars to pass, grades have been made easier, and the formation improved. These improvements are being continued, and a welcome worK that is now being commenced is the construction of a small bridge at Handysides creek. This is about four miles from the junction of the road with the main highway. In the last 10 years the road has been in some five or six different places as it passed through the creek, and this crossing has proved one of the most troublesome on the route. At present there are some 15 men engaged in constructing a spoil dump which will facilitate the building of a small bridge on the deviation, which runs about 30 yards higher than the present route. The construction of this bridge draws attention to the desirability of bridging smaller creeks on the road. None of these creeks offers any difficulty to cars, but it is necessary to go through them slowly. When the road is being used more extensively, this slowing up of travel will undoubtedly draw protests from motorists. There are, fortunately, not a great number of these creeks, and the rest of the road is so well formed that cars may travel over it at a speed of 40 miles an hour with no discomfort to the passengers.

At the Hope River In March of this year it was possible for cars to go only as far as the Hope river. At that time there was no bridge across the river, and it was stated that the main block to further progress with the road was the lack of such a bridge. It was considered that men should not be asked to work across the Hope until better access had been provided. Sometimes the river flooded to such a height that it was impossible : to get across for some days, and in the event of an accident or illness at a camp beyond the river it would have been impossible to obtain assistance. Recently, however, a permanent bridge has been completed, and this had made conditions much more favourable for everyone concerned. It is a solidly built structure, with heavy wooden sleepers on steel girders and steel piles. A few hundred yards further along the road another bridge is being built across a creek. From the Hope bridge the road has been constructed since April only, and the going is much rougher in some parts. But there are quite considerable stretches on which a speed of 30 miles an hour can be maintained with comfort. As yet the grader has done very little work on this side of the Hope. The effect of its work is apparent enough on the other side, and it should not be long before the early stages of the newly-constructed road are as comfortable for travelling as any part of the first 20 miles.

Slow Travelling; The journey after the road has turned off from the Hope river is slow, for the workmen have been concentrating on making cuttings, and in places the route is little better than an ill-defined track. For the next half-mile or so that has to be done, the men will find the going harder, for they have to cut through hard rock. They are, however, almost in sight of the advance camp at the confluence of the Lewis and Boyle rivers. This camp is now well established, and the men there have begun to work back along the flat to complete this sector of the road. On the other side 'of the pass, at Maruia Springs, is a smaller camp, where about 30; inert are stationed.

From there two miles have been formed, and for the remaining two miles to the West Coast boundary a track four feet wide has been constructed. When this has been widened another two miles of road will be built on the top of the pass. The ground there is flat, but swampy, but there should be no difficulty in draining it. The prospects for the completion of the road by the middle of 1937 appear to be very good. For the year ending next' March, the Government has approved the expenditure of £40,000, and .those who have been interested in the efforts to get the support of the Government to the project are confident that the money will be allocated for the work to be finished within the next 18 months.