Research Plan Approved By Roads Board

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30857, 16 September 1965, Page 10

Research Plan Approved By Roads Board

(From Our Own Reporter}

WELLINGTON, Sept. 15.

The expenditure of £23,870 this year on road research was approved by the National Roads Board today—to cover investigation of the physical and chemical behaviour of road materials, development of test methods that will predict performance, both of materials and constructions, development of special construction techniques and trials of road features designed to guide or direct traffic.

Trial construction with particular techniques and materials will also be undertaken and studies made of “traffic stream” behaviour, in particular manoeuvres and road situations. The chairman of the board, the Minister of Works (Mr Allen) said that this was one item of expenditure which “must go up in the years ahead.” The Director of Roading (Mr J. H. Macky) said that the amount to be spent was about 1 per cent of the board’s revenue.

Uniform Marking A uniform marking for the designation of “no-stopping” zones was agreed to by the board today. The board approved in principle the adoption of a broken yellow line painted on roads 4ft from the kerb. It will recommend the Commissioner of Transport to adopt such a marking for introduction throughout the country. The details of location and dimensions of the broken lines it referred for a decision to its signs committee.

The mark used by the Christchurch and Auckland City Councils —a St. Andrew’s Cross—was not favoured for uniform introduction because it used too much paint and looked untidy, said the Chief Highways Engineer (Mr F. A. Langbein). A continuous yellow kerb marking was satisfactory when kerbing existed but often

there was no kerbing alongside roads.

The system of broken lines was neat, used less paint and “should not be confusing,” he said. Highway Lighting The extension of the existing mercury vapour lighting at Washdyke, at an estimated capital cost of £1460, was approved by the National Roads Board today, providing the local authority agreed that capital and ! annual costs were subsidised at the normal rate.

The Chief Highways Engineer said that Levels County Council had applied for the extension, and that the application had recently been confirmed by the Timaru City Council. Present lighting covered 50 chains on State Highway 1 and six chains along State highway 8. The proposal was to light another 20 chains southwards along State highway 1 and five chains along the other road. Recent industrial development in the area had brought about the request. Limited Access The State highway between the Kaiapoi borough boundary and the Waimakariri river bridge was approved as a proposed limited access road by the board. The length of highway involved is 1.25 miles.

The Director of Roading (Mr J. H. Macky) said that the section had been subjected to increasing frontage development but was eventually to be by-passed by a

motorway now under construction.

The Eyre County Council had requested the board to provide an opportunity to protect the State highway by

a ministerial requirement designating it as proposed limited access road.

Although the highway would probably revert to county road status when the motorway was completed, until it did, the county council was unable to exercise its initiative to declare the highway a limited access road, in spite of its desire to do so. “Protection of the highway is justified and it is gratifying to see this local authority exhibiting an awareness of the need to protect one of its major traffic routes,” Mr Macky said. Everything moves. Everything is a problem.—Pope Paul.

AN ADVERTISEMENT In “The Press” CLASSIFIED COLUMNS wil) soon convert those no longer used articles into ready cash. For quick, simple, and easy selling, try the Classifieds DIAL SO-199 4NY TIME.