MORE PLANT?

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 122, 27 May 1925, Page 9

MORE PLANT?

FOR HUIT VALLEY PAVING

REPORT TO LOCAL HIGHWAYS

BOARD

PURCHASE OF SMALLER MIXER SUGGESTED.

Since the No. 1 paving plant' was moved to its present site at Petone,-stated a report from the City Engineer (Mr. A. J. Paterson) to the Local Highways Board yesterday afternoon, a total area of 28,951 square yards had been paved at Petone and Lower Huttr-Cuba street, 2740 square yards; the Esplanade, 15,----397 square yards; Railway avenue, 3158 square yards; and Main Hutt road 7656 square yards. In all, the plant (previously located at Ngahauranga) had mixed material for the surfacing of 63,866 square yards during the season, roughly 10,000 square yards per month. . Allowing for wet weather, holidays, and a paving season of ten months in the year, an estimate of 100,000 square yards per plant per year might be stated.

MORE THAN TWO YEARS' WORK

A careful estimate of the area to bo paved under the , suburban highways scheme, to complete the first schedule of the Act, is 305,000 square yards/ continued tlio report. "It was proposed to complete the whole of this schedule by June, 1927, or in two years' time. The position of the board's plant is such as to dominate tho Petone and Hutt areas and I am given to understand that these two boroughs intend to request tho board to pave considerable extra areas on their account before tho plant is removed, lueso facts point to the necessity of increasing tho mixing capacity in the Hutt Valley by 50 per cent. "Economical haulage of the hot mix northward from Petoue will cease at the ■Uita Gorge. There will still bo four miles of paving to lay between this point and the north boundary of Upper Hutt. mo area _to be paved to the north'of Johnsonville will also be beyond the economical haulage limit. "It will be remembered that durin» iv ? avin? of the first Hutt road length" the board s plant had the help of the Ransome plant in tho Corporation yard. 1 his latter machine was then workino- at high efficiency, considerably over its makers guarantee. The weather was exceptional, and considerable overtime was worked. Those conditions do not i Prevail now. It is evident that the (.boards present plant will not construct tlie balance of the pavement according to I programme, i.e., to finish by June, 1927. 'If the Hutt and Petone districts requiro extra paving on their own account it would not bo advisable to move the | present plant from Petone. This plant now requires a certain amount of overhaul which should be done as quickly as possible- during the short days, and then paving should immediately recommence on those areas in the Petone and Hutt Boroughs and Hutt County within easy reach of the plant. I refer to Jackson street, the approaches to the Hutt Bridge and the Gracefield road. TWO METHODS OF PROCEDURE "There are two methods of procedure open to the board, first, to complete the whole valley paving with the addition of the four miles north of Silverstream even at the high cost of transport for the hot mix, and then to move the plant somewhere north of JohnsonviHe (thus completing the programme not sooner than June, 1928), .or to authorise the council to purchase a half-sized plant; which will complete the four miles north of Silverstream and JohnsonviHe in the coming season, and then complete the Makara County portion the following season. °

"The recent authorisation by the city of a large loan on its own account will mean that the Rongotai plant cannot be used for any portion of the' Makara County Council's work. WORK IN CITY "I have also to report that the Rongotai plant laid 17,975 square yards of pavement within the city. As the balance of the areas in the city contained in your schedule is closely connected with pavements to bo laid under two other authorisations for the City Council, there should bo no doubt in the minds of the board that those areas will be constructed within a period satisfactory to the Wellington City Council." TRANSPORT POLICY j The board had under its control quite a fleet of transport vehicles, said Air. ] A. T. Strand. What was paid for hired vehicles ? The man in the street said' that the board was paying as much as £5 per day. He thought that it would bs much more economical for the board to own its own transport. A statement had also been made that metal for the Hutt road had cost as much as 17s per i cubic yard, delivered at the road.. If [ that was so, if was altogether out of proportion to what seemed right to him. "I think," he said, "that if this board is spending 17s per yard for metal then it is not doing justice to those it represents, particularly, to the motorists."

Hired vehicles cost 12s 6d per hour, stated the Mayor, and the board's own vehicles lla 6d per hour when all charges were taken into account. A very important factor had to be considered, that of the intermittent nature of the work on account of broken weather interruptions. In the case of the hired vehicles the expense stopped when the work stopped Councillor W. H. Bennett considered that the recommendation that, a portable plant be purchased was a sound one. He could not say that ho was satisfied with the board's transport system. No convincing statement had been given the board as to why it was more economical to carry on its present transport policy than to own its own plant, said Councillor H. D. Bennett. Such a report should be made. available.

In answer to Mr. Strand, the City Engineer stated that no metal delivered to the board had cost 17s per cubic yard, the very highest cost had been 14s".

Mr. Strand went on to deal with the unsuitability of certain of the hired vehicles for their work, and moved that a return should be prepared giving the quantity of all materials used for paving work, from whom purchased, and the prices paid. Mr. Strand's motion was approved, and the report was ndopted.