EXPENDITURE ON ROADS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25177, 7 May 1947, Page 9

EXPENDITURE ON ROADS

REDUCED ESTIMATES THIS YEAR

DISTRICT HIGHWAYS COUNCIL MEETS Less expenditure for road reconstructioh and maintenance was recommended this year by the No. .13 District Highways Council when it met yesterday. • Reports presented by the chairman, (Mr E. F. Evans) explained that in the last two years expenditure in the area had been increased by railways work, such as the Aniseed stream and Lyell creek bridges, on the Picton-Christ-church highway, which had been charged to highways funds. In the past it had also been- possible to allow local bodies’ full requests for ordinary maintenance, but this year they had been reduced. It was found last year that more than £20.000 of money allocated to ordinary maintenance was left unexpended, so it was thought better to reduce the requests, which had been considerably increased, and to allocate the . money to maintenance sealing works. The summary of estimates showed that a total of £153,299 expenditure had been sought by local bodies for the coming year, and £103,330 had been recommended. The main Main Highways Board’s share of this amounted to £96,498. Details of the expenditure recommended by the council with the Main Highways Board subsidies were as follows: —counties: Amuri, £11.364 (£8548); Cheviot, £3632 (£2724); Kaikoura, £2698 (£2458); Waipara, £12,442 (£9958). State highways: Picton-Christchurch. £58.914 (£58.914). Main highways: Reefton-Hanmer Junction, £11,780 (£11,780). Canterbury Automobile Association, sign-posting. £lOO (£75). Chairman’s Report . “Although materials were still in short supply, bitumen became available, and a good deal of maintenance sealing and plant-mix surfacing was done during the year,” stated the chairman’s annual report. ‘‘ln the previous year 28? miles of sealing was done in the three districts, but this year 67 miles was done. “It is interesting to note that 67 miles of surfacing is about the average figure which must be done each year,” the report stated. “There are more than 400 miles of sealing throughout the three districts, ana allowing seven years of life for paving, 60 miles a year must be sealed. This figure will give members some appreciation of the maintenance problem which faces local bodies alone. Fortunately it seems that the supply of bitumen will again be satisfactory and more surfacing can therefore be done. The supply of labour is also short, and it seems that for some time cement will not be available, so that in view of this the requests forbridging have been severely cut.” Commenting on the estimates, the chairman said there was a fairly severe reduction from the amount applied for and the amount allocated—a fact which supported his contention that it was no good putting an item on the estimate if there was doubt about it being expended. To a member of the council who commented that on looking back a number of

years it had been found that ordinary grading work on roads, for example, had decreased by £20,000, he said that it might be due to some of the current shortages of men and materials. Whatever the cause it was an argument for asking local bodies to request no more funds than they thought they could spend. The council agreed to recommend that the Main Highways Board should consider declaring the Red-Post to Hanmer Junction section: of the Red Post-Jollie’s Pass road a Government highway.