MAKARA COUNTY ROADS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 117, 12 February 1944, Page 5

MAKARA COUNTY ROADS

Metal Urgently Needed The urgent necessity for Concentrating on the production of metal before the roads of the county deteriorated' beyond repair was stressed by Or. E. Windley at the monthly meeting of the Makara County Council yesterday. Metal, he said, was urgently required all oyer the county. In the financial year 1938-39 4015 yards of metal had been placed on the roads, but the supply had dwindled till this year only 1559 yards had been used on maintenance. Increased, military traffic had been responsible for the de*terioration of the county roads, and the shortage of manpower made matters more difficult. Under the circumstances he did not think that labour was being utilized to the best advantage. The roadmen were putting in a lot of work such as clearing water-tables, which was not necessary, and the men might have been directed to more-useful work. Most of the work had been done in Porirua riding, but a lot of the labour done there should have been spent in Makara riding. It would, be impossible for the foreman to do any priming and sealing this year. He moved that the foreman be directed to use his best endeavours to utilize the labour available to producing the largest supply of metal possible. The chairman, Mr. R. W. Bothamley, said that when the council had approached the Government for a subsidy to repair the damage done in Horokiwi riding by the storm last year they had been told that a subsidy could not be granted because the county had such a substantial credit balance. Cr. Windley’s motion was carried. The foreman was authorized to endeavour to procure a machine in the form of a scoop to expedite and. cheapen work at the quarry.