Better bridges on north highway

Press, 5 August 1976, Page 2

Better bridges on north highway

The Government has approved a grant of s9m to the National Roads Board, part of which will be used in improving the bridges on t h e Christchurch-Picton highway, it was announced yesterday in Christchurch by the Minister of Works and Development (Mr W. L. •Young). Making the announcement at the annual conference of the New Zealand '"intractors’ Federation, Mr Young said that of the S9M grant, S3M would be used for increased servicing charges leaving S6M available for allocation for road works.

Mr Young said that S3M of that amount should be applied to urgent work of national importance, including temporary work and a start on permanent work necessary to bring bridges; on the Picton to Christchurch highway up to Class 1 standard.

Provision for the grant would be made in the 197677. Supplementary Estimates, but planning for the allocation of the money was proceeding now so that resulting work could begin soon, Mr Young said.

He said that the allocation of the additional funds should be finalised at the next meeting of the roads board on August 18, so that construction work could begin in the coming season.

The federation claimed that the Government had been increasing its plant to a point where it owned too much equipment. This was not true; figur< - showed that

the department’s plant holdings were actually decreasing both numerically and in value, said Mr Young. Mr Young told the contractors that the industry in New Zealand possessed plant and equipment in excess of the amount that a country of its size could support. Mr Young quoted a surveyconducted by the federation which predicted that by the end of this month half of the contracting industry’s plant and equipment —- worth a total of SIOOOM — would be idle. This meant that the industry total plant was wor'h S2OOOM which compared with the total value of comparable equipment held by the department — a total of S3IM. “It cannot be said that we • are a Samson in the field of construction,” he said. Mr Young warned contractors who had been expanding their activities as major earthmovers in the hydro schemes that opportunities for this type of work were diminishing.

This would be particularly so when the Upper Waitaki project earthworks were substantially completed next , year; and Mr Young said , there would be no earthmoving works on this scale to follow at once.

What appeared to be a S2BM problem for the roads board had been met by S9M. the president of the Municipal Association of New Zealand (Mr B. C. G. Elwood)

said yesterday in Wellington. He was commenting on the announcement yesterday . of the Government’s allocation of an additional $9 to the board. The municipal association welcomed the allocation but is "disappointed that the amount allocated does not reasonably solve the problem as seen by municipal local government.” Mr Elwood said it was his understanding that the income of the board was SI3M less this year than last year, [and the board needed to absorb inflation in costs to the level of SISM. “The time is not too far distant when further money will need to be applied to roading for the present level of road maintenance and construction to be reasonably maintained,” he said.