Culverden road

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32563, 24 March 1971, Page 20

Culverden road

Sir, —As a driver Who uses the road between Culverden and Christchurch a great deal, I am amazed by the apparent waste of money on alterations to this; road. The object of altering any road is to straighten out the comers, widen, and make the road safer. The first alteration, which appeared to be a complete waste of money, involved the new Anthills Bridge at the beginning of the Weka Pass going north. Could not the road have gone straight from the north end of the Waipara Flat in line to the Weka Pass station home-

stead? Not long ago an attempt was made to widen and improve the road between the Hawarden turn-off north of Karaka Stream to the Hurunui Hotel. This proved to be a very half-hearted attempt and, where very little extra effort and expense would have straightened out several of the worst comers in this stretch, these comers remain basically as they were before. Now the latest effort immediately north of the Karaka Stream Bridge, could easily have straightened the road. However we will again be left with a comer basically as it was before.—Yours, etc., M. J. H. DAVISON. Culverden, March 16, 1971. [The District Commissioner of Works (Mr E. E. Lawrence replies: “The standards adopted for the various reconstruction works carried out during recent years on State highway 7, between Waipara and Culverden, are considered to be reasonably high. In. each case a better speed-value could have been obtained with greater expenditure, but this would have meant deferring other works within the No. 13 Roads District. The work carried out between the Hawarden turnoff and the Hurunui hotel was not a reconstruction job but consisted of minor widening and shaping and widening of the seal in places before resealing. Very little cost was involved.]