More Speed With Master Traffic Plan Urged

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30588, 3 November 1964, Page 14

More Speed With Master Traffic Plan Urged

The Christchurch master transport plan should be speeded up so that the route of the northern motorway out of the city could be decided in broad outline and protected, said the chairman of the No. 14 District Roads Council (Mr D. B. Dallas) in a report to a meeting of the council yesterday.

Land purchase for the motorway could be well under way by 1967-68 and construction could be started by 1969-70, Mr Dallas said.

Another reason for pressing ahead with the master transport plan, said Mr Dallas, was that it was illogical to have six miles of motorway terminating six miles and a half north of Cathedral square when severe problems were looming in the inner urban area. Mr F. W. Freeman said he considered Mr Dallas’s report the finest piece of transport literature he had seen for a long time. The transport situation in Christchurch was a children’s picture puzzle, and Mr Dallas had put the pictures together remarkably well. There was no doubt, said Mr Freeman, that the master transport plan would have to be speeded up. Mr R. C. Neville said it would be crazy and illogical if the northern motorway went “phut” just because the master transport plan was behind time. Copies To Be Sent The meeting decided to send a copy of Mr Dallas’s report to the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority and another to the National Roads Board. Mr Freeman suggested that the paragraphs in the report about the master transport plan be marked. “Yes, and in red ink,” commented another member. In his report, Mr Dallas said that to date £417,000 had been allocated to the northern motorway programme from the National Roads Board’s funds.

In September, 1963, he said the council passed a resolution supporting the District Commissioner of Works in his efforts to ensure that sufficient finance was allocated for the completion of the first stage of the motorway, from Belfast to Pinehaven, by 1970.

“Efforts to crystallise a programme along these lines continued, but it is only within the last few months that we have had indications that the necessary finance for this target programme is likely to be allocated.

“Complicated” “Negotiations have been complicated by technical design and operation considerations of major importance and complexity,” he said. “There was a natural desire by our roading division to programme finance only to the limits necessary to keep pace with the growth of transport needs. This required a critical study of the possibilities of development by stages. For example, one twolane bridge could be built over the Waimakariri river as part of a two-lane motorway system. Later, a second bridge could be added and the route converted throughout to a four-lane motorway. Alternatively, a higher capacity first stage could be achieved if the first bridge carried north-bound traffic only and the present bridge carried south-bound traffic only,” said Mr Dallas. He said there were also real problems of design in devising a stage development for bridging so that the ultimate capacity would provide for six lanes. “I am happy to say that all these studies are now likely to produce an answer that I hope council members will find quite satisfactory.” A detailed financial and construction programme is now being developed that would step up finance on the

project to at least £300,000 a year and allow completion of a four-way motorway from Belfast to Cam road, northwest of Kaiapoi, and two lanes on to Pinehaven by 1970. This would also include an interchange at Chaneys corner and motorway station at Tram road, Ohoka road, and Cain road, said Mr Dallas. Waimakariri Bridges

It was proposed to call tenders soon for pre-casting about one-third of the prestressed concrete piles necessary for the first bridge over the Waimakariri. That contract would lead to a contract for the bridge itself, including the remainder of the piles—possibly the two twin bridges in the one contract — with provision for completion of the first structure before commencing the superstructure of the second. “Delays in final agreement about the Waimakariri bridge details have made it the limiting factor in completing the first section <if the motorway. Even on the limited progress possible with funds hitherto available, earthwork is well ahead of requirements in timing completion of the first section. This has advantages, however, both for gene-

,ral roading and for bridge i approach fills because of weak ground conditions," Mr Dallas said. He said that the first bridge should be completed about Christmas, 1966, and the second bridge in 1968. Thus, a four-lane highway as far as Ohoka road, with a two-lane bridge over the Waimakariri i river, should be available for use by the end of 1966 and 'the full four-lane route to I the same point by the end of 1968.

During this period, four other bridges would be needed, said Mr Dallas. These were a flyover in the Chaneys interchange area, at the tram road deviation, at Neeves road (for pedestrians and cyclists only) and at the Ohoka road deviation. Although provision had been made for extending the motorway northwards from Pinehaven, this was likely to be well in the future. Therefore, to avoid a sharp decline in No. 14 district motorway expenditure after 1970, attention must be focused on the area south of Chaneys corner In about six months, the Ministry of Works motorway design team would become available to deal with sections of No. 1 route south of Bellfast, Mr Dallas said.