Roads Board allocation forces works cut-back

Press, 22 February 1979, Page 3

Roads Board allocation forces works cut-back

Wellington reporter

The amount to be spent on roads in New Zealand during 1979-80, SI7OM, will be less in real terms than that spent in 1978-79, SI6SM. The Government has told the National Roads Board that the SI7OM must also be applied to programming levels up to 1982.

The board has reduced its 1979-80 programme and has asked all roading authorities to review their programmes for 1981-82 as a result of the reduced sum available. Members of the board were “bitterly disappointed” about the Government’s decision. Only a few months ago, the Government had guaranteed the board an in-flation-proof income, said Mr F. Thomas, representing the municipalities. “This guarantee has been dashed, and now we should press the Government to allow more of the petrol tax from the Consolidated Account to be used on the roads where it was collected,” he said. x

“Letting our roads fall to bits is like letting our schools and hospitals fall to bits — wasting an expensive asset.” But the Director of Roading (Mr F. A. Langbein) denied that New Zealand’s roads would “fall to bits.” It was not certain that the number of cars would increase. The reduced money available meant only that more and better roads could not be built, and not that existing roads could not be maintained.

“New Zealand is spending more than it is earning, and the roading problem cannot be seen in isolation,” said the Minister of Works (Mr W. L. Young). “There is not enough money to do all the things we would like to do.”

There would be an increase in the road user charges collected, probably at the time of this year’s Budget, he said.

New Zealand’s fuel supply problems did not put the board in a strong position to seek more money for roading. The board will spend $83.6M on State highways in 1979-80 (compared with SSI.ISM in 1978-79), $36.7M on county roads ($35.65M), and $28.4M on municipal roads ($27.85M). The rest of the budget will be spent on items ineluding administration ($10.8M), flood damage (S6M), and subsidised highways (SI.9M).

The low level of construction works was significant said the Assistant Director of Roading (Mr R. B. Fisher). At $8.45M, new construction works represented only 5 per cent of the SI7OM. In finalising its estimates for 1979-80, the board had continued its policy of giving top priority to meeting basic roading requirements (including bridge renewals) and second priority to meeting committed works.

This had meant, within a limited budget, the deferral of a lot of construction work, he said. It Was unfortunate that the programmes of some roading authorities would have become unbalanced, but it was of prime importance that available funds were directed to preserving the existing asset ahead of available works.

Five State highway big works programmes have been dropped from the 1979-80 estimates.

Projects in Hamilton, a deviation between Taupo and Napier, reconstruction work near Wanganui, Wellington’s Ngauranga Gorge motorway interchange, and Paremata’s bridge projects have been deferred.

The Lyttelton road tunnel will become a public road when the terms of the Christchurch-Lyttelton Road Tunnel Authority Act, 1978,

come into force on April 1. The board declared the road to be a State highway under its administration. The declaration encompasses the road from the north end of the Heathcote River bridge to the Lyttelton portal of the tunnel.

Flood repair works at Haast Pass, worth about SIM, have been approved by the board.

Larger sums may be needed to repair the damage that occurred during the rain which flooded much of South Otago and Southland in October last.

An initial approval for $995,000 to be spent has been given by the board, but the chief highways engineer of the Ministry of Works (Mr E. J. Burt) said that more might be needed. “A fantastic quantity of water was involved,” he said. “In one place, a 700tonne boulder was shifted some distance by water which had been intended to flow through a 30cm culvert.”

The Haast River had changed course at Thomas and Clarke bluffs, and $150,000 was needed there to safeguard and protect the road.

Damage of considerably more than $£M had been done under and about the Gates of Haast bridge. A huge rock Slide and riverbed erosion needed immediate attention.

Mr Burt said the most alarming fact was the erosion of the abutments under the bridge itself. At the very least, expensive abutment stabilisation work was needed, if not new abutments.

“One enormous concrete block has been shifted to the middle of the river, which has been diverted round it, causing further worry,” he said.

The block would have to be broken up, and work

done to stabilise the huge natural boulders shifting about in the riverbed.

The all-night burning of State highway and motorway lights has been reinstated by the board after mounting criticism of the blackout it had imposed. Since April, 1975, in keeping with energy conservation, the board switched off street lighting on State highways during the early-morning hours. In February, 1978, it relaxed this ban, permitting lighting in some areas.

The board’s blackout decision was not popular. It was criticised by local authoriti e s, power-distribution authorities, and the police.

While traffic and accidents are low early in the morning, the ratio of accidents to vehicles substantially increases. Lights were switched off when they were most needed said the critics.

Concern about public safety and the security of property when areas were left in darkness was also voiced.

The lack of switch gear in some installations made it impossible to switch lights off while maintaining power at other installations. Costs prohibited the installation of separate gear. The Standards Institute is now investigating standards for lighting installations, which is thought to offer a better approach to energy conservation than arbitrarily shortening the hours of lighting.