VISIT TO NGAHAURANGA GORGE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1077, 16 March 1911, Page 2

VISIT TO NGAHAURANGA GORGE.

URGENT NEED FOR REPAIRS. "If the road was examined by any competent engineer, it would be at once condemned as unsafe for traffic." Such was the dictum of an expert who has been at some pains to examine the existing condition of the Ngahaurauga Gorge l!oad, that bit ci sinuous track that looks like a thread blown against the steep rock face ol the tortuous rift bctwefln tho hills connecting Johnsonvillc, of the heights, with Ngahaurauga, by tho sea. The road narrows suddenly to a mere- thread as,roads go as it enters tho declivity between towering hills almost bare of herbage. On the ouo hand are grim walls of rock, rising '200 .feet in tho air sheer from tho road, and on the other is a noisy brook, chattering to itself as it hurries" over the dark stones to Mother Sea. As ono advances tho scene grows rather picturesque —there aro patches of koromiko and other bold natives attached to tho scant soil and issuing from the fissures in tho rocks. The place is shut out from the world—for all tho indications one might bo a hundred miles away from a city instead of four, and only the insistent burble of the stream breaks tho silence.

The Ngahauranga Gorge Road has always been known as a dangerous road— perhaps as dangerous a bit as there is in the whole of the district. That is its common.reputation—was so twenty years ago to the writer's knowledge. Ibis because of its devious and awkward corners. Every motorist knows the Gorge Road, aud has had trouble there at ono time or other. He has to bo mighty careful in his steering, for there is generally a drop of from 20ft. to 30ft. within two feet of his outer' wheel—sometimes less. Only a little time • ago α-slip occurred near the water-trough, and in shooting across tho road the spoil and rocks struck a trap and horse, which, with the occupants, were bowled over into the stream, but were fortunately rc&cucd. Only last week a horse and cart carried away live fencing-posts, and went within inches of falling over tho bank, which at that point is a sheer drop of about 25ft. And this is part of the main arterial road to the Mauawatu, Horowhenua, and Porirua! The real danger, however, is not the width or tortuousness or grado of ■ the road—though they arc all bad features. It lies in the fact that tho road is uot a solid road at all in many parts. Chains and chains of it are built up in what is known as half-bridges, i.e., where there was not sufficient solid.to make even a twelve or thirteen feet road, planks or logs, or both, have been, laid down at right, angles to tho road, and the outer ends have been nailed to a longitudinal joist Supported by piles or posts, fixed in the rock below. Over these plauks a layer of spoil and metal threo or four inches thick has been spread, giving the section quite a solid appearance. At' the , best such a form of road construction could only count as a makeshiftit has now been a makeshift for thirty to forty years, and a close examination made of the'half-bridges yesterday by a Dominion representative revealed the fact that repairs are urgently needed in several places. At "18" corner there is a sharp turn at right angles leading on to a 13ft. Gin. wide bridge, and across the bridge is an obtuse angle in 'tho road, which at the point is not wide enough for two vehicles to pass. Troublo has been frequent at this corner. Both corners need blunting; the road wants the width, in any case, in. the interest of public safety. Another danger-point is just-above tho quarry' where the width of the road from the fence to the toe of the rock face is only twelve feet. Below the abattoirs matters take a turn f6r the worse. There are 'more—a whole string of half-bridges all in a bad state of decay, some with the planks rotted and broken. The worthy members of the Makara County Council (tho controlling .authority) are a.sked to inspect the 'underpinning that, supports half the road opposite the water-trough. ■ There they will see for themselves a dry stone wail ■in tho-pracess. of. ; bul<rijif?.,out .preparatory ■to bclow\ This is at the point where the last bigslip occurred and after the next big slip is cleared away the chances are extremely probable that there will be little, if any, of the. road left. In other places it was noted that the piles and old fencing posts supporting, tho half-bridges have devel-, oped a kink outwards at the top. When the writer was in the Gorge yesterday, a steam motor-lorry came along. The driver evidently knew his business and the road. ; He kept his inner wheels on the edge of the water table as long as ho was within sight—he was having nothing to do with the outer third of the road. '

The Jlakara County Council must shoulder tho initial responsibility of widening this road and placing it within the bounds of ordinary safety, and that, body has already had a report prepared pointing out the dangerous condition of the road and the urgent need that exists for a- comprehensive 'scheme of alterations and renairs. Tho County Council ennnot, in all fairness, it is stated, , bo asked to bear all the expenditure needed. Other bodies, who. benefit from tho existence and safety nf this road aro tho ■Wellington C'ily Council ('owing to tho presence of the abattoirs in tho Gorge), the Johnsonvillo Hoad Board, the Onslow Borough Council, and the Government (as it is an arterial road to the wct.t coast).