The Dominion WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1933. THE WESTERN HUTT ROAD

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 74, 20 December 1933, Page 10

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1933. THE WESTERN HUTT ROAD

Several questions are opened up by the announced decision of the Government, to proceed with the witong of the W « & Rnnrl This road is to be reconstructed to first-class main y standard and carried beyond its present terminal by a mile and a half 0 new road to connect with a traffic bridge across the Hu t River and Whence to a junction with the Wellrngton-Wairarapa high■WayTo those’acquainted with the present Western Hutt Road the reconstruction project will appear a big ™Une narrow, winding, and undulating. It runs effise^ to th^rmlway tae which at certain points almost overhangs the Hutt reconstruction should begin with the railway line itself, for the course Of the “ver has so changed that sooner or later protect™ works will become necessary. The experl 3 between the hills and the river, would see at once that there.is barely room for a first-class highway and a railway line. The same expert eye with prophetic vision, would see in the development of settlement in the Upper Hutt Valley a possible demand for a doub e- ' “ tom Wellington to Hutt. It would e impost , e to run a double track along the present Western Hutt line fromthe Lower .Hutt-Station to the Silverstream bridge, even if a modern highways were not in the picture. This latest proposition makes it d ° Ub The°obvious course to pursue is to go on with the reconstruction of the highway, but to scrap the railway from Petone to Silverstream. The railway deviation from Petone through the Hutt Valley stops at Waterloo Station. Why the through hne to the Wairarapa did not originally follow the line of the present deviation and go on by cuttings and tunnels to Silverstream-the logical one of the mysteries which the inside history of the politics of that time -alone can explain. Further, it is evident that the new Hutt railway deviation had a further destination than its present terminal, for a proclamation was gazetted holding up the sale and development for residential purposes of the lands beyond. It must be concluded that the proposal to expend a good deal pf money in converting the Western Hutt Road from a country lane to a first-class highway should form part of a comprehensive scheme of road and railway development for the Lower and Upper Hutt Valleys. The area served by the section of line that might well be scrapped, together with the worn-out railway bridge across the Hutt River at Silverstream, could be as well serviced for passenger transport by railway buses, ..Strong objection should be taken to the proposal to make a Western Hutt first-class highway unless it can be fitted into such a scheme.