CITY WORKS

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 95, 16 January 1926, Page 6

CITY WORKS

THE 1920 LOAN SCHEDULE £1,264,068 ALREADY BORROWED BALANCE TO BE RAISED, £444,848 On September 15. 1920. the ratepayers of Wellington were asked to vote on nine loan issues concerning works that were at that time estimated to cost £1,708,916. The whole loan schedule was carried (much to the surprise of many), and as it is five years and four months since the date of the poll it will be of interest to refresh the public mind as to what these proposatls were, how many have been carried out, and what remains to be done.

Tlie proposals were as follow: —

No. I.—Orongorongo Tunnel.—Oastiron main from Orongorongo tunnel to Kaori reservoir; new tuuuel to Waiwetu. £561,943.

As is fairly well known, the Orongorongo tunnel was pierced by co-opera-tive labour organised by Mr. R. temple, and’has been completed for over a vear As a general thing the city solicitor has ruled that loan money must be spen* in a manner that conforms as precisely as possible to the language setting forth the proposal to the ratepavers. This has beefi departed from in two ways, viz.,: Lock-bar steel pipes are being used instead of cast iron, and the new main is to be conducted over, not through, the Waiwetu Hill. The whole of the money has been raised. No. ’2—Street Works.—Permanent road paving: Clyde Quay Square. Wakefield Street, Victoria Street, Hunter Street, Mercer Street, Featherston Street, Lambton Station Square, Thorndon Quay, Cambridge Terace; new road Brooklyn to Vogoltown; stormwater drainage and foreshore improvements, Island Bay; improved access to Roseneath: new road to Khandallah; widening Evans Bay road from Oriental Bay to ’ Kilbirnie; widening Luxford Street; widening Adelaide Hoadl; road to Karori, via Raroa road, £129,150.

Of the above sum, £102,700 has already been raised, and has either been spent or is being expended at the present time. Work still to be done out of this loan is the permanent paving of Clvde Quay Square, Wakefield Street, and Victoria Street (held , up owing' to future tramway works). The widening of Adelaide Road and Luxford Street is a gradual process. No. 3—Tramways.—New track, viz., Victoria Street and Wakefield Street; duplication Thorndon Quay line; duplication existing lines Vivian Street, Island Bay and Lyall Bay cashed extension, Kilbirnie; new workshop and plant, Kilbirnie; twenty-four (24) new cars; tramway extension to Kaiwarra’ new electric power station Evans Bay, £664,887.

Of this sum £521,900 has been raised. The new tracks along Victoria and Wakefield Streets have still to be laid, but part of the material for them is to hand. The Thorndon Quav line has been duplicated, as have also the Island Bay and Lyall Bay lines. The car-barn'at Ouepti Road has been extended, and a tender has been let for the construction of the new tramway workshops at Onepu Road. The tramwav tracks have not been extended to Kaiwarra, but a trackless car service has been provided between Thorndon Quay and Kaiwarra. The new electric power station at Evans Bay is in operation.

No. 4.—Tramways—Kelburn, Karori. and Northland tramway extension, viz., Willis Street, Aro Street, and Raroa Road; extension to Northland. £66,986.

The above loan has not been raised. The only work done in connection with this proposal has been the construction of the Northland tunnel (now the subject of an inquiry), which has been financed by the tramways department against the time the loan is raised. No. s.—Baths.—Thorndon baths an f j site and hot salt water baths and Turkish baths, £26,875 Of this sum, £14,100 has been raised and expended on the construction of fresh-water baths, on a site off Murphy Street. The old proposal to provide hot salt water baths and Turkish baths on the site of the electric lighting power house in Mercer Street still holds good. No. 6.—General Improvements.—Oriental Bay sea wall to Ballina Bay; public sanitary conveniences- enclosure and building and plant for corporation yard- Basin Reserve, pavilion and improvements to reserve. £63,425. Tlie whole of this loan has been raised and expended. No. 7.—Tramway extension to Melrose (Sutherland Road) from Zoo gaTbs, £12,960.

The loan has not been raised. Melrose is now being served by a motor bus service. No. B.—New tunnel through Mount Victoria, £161,250.

This loan lias not been raised. It may receive consideration this year. No. 9.—Fire Protection Buildings Fire Alarms and Equipment, etc.—ln Brooklyn. Mornington, Island Bay, Ngaio, Kandallah, Kelburn. Northland. Karori, Roscneath, £21,500. This loan lias not been raised. From tlie above it can be gathered that the £1,708,616 loan of 1920, a total of £1,264,068 has been raised, leaving a balance yet to be raised of £444,848.