THE ROADING SCHEDULE

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 122, 27 May 1925, Page 4

THE ROADING SCHEDULE

■ Eeports submitted to the City and Suburban Highways Board yesterday show that reasonable progress has been made with the paving programme. All that was expected has not been done, because there have been delays for which the engineers and the roading staff cannot be held responsible. It must be admitted also that one big job undertaken—the paving of Pipitea Wharf—was not a city or suburban street work in the correct sense of the term, and would probably not have been done if it had been possible to proceed at once with the street-making scheme. How far the delays of the past season have interfered with the complete programme is not disclosed. All that is stated is that the original proposal to complete the schedule by June, 1927, cannot now be carried out with the present plant. The board may decide either to accept postponement or to purchase further plant so that the work may be put through according to time-table. In considering which course should be adopted tho board must have regard to the funds at its disposal. Its finauces are not so elastic as to allow for the purchase of extra plant without counting the cost, the economy of operation, and the use to which 3uch plant may be put when the work now proposed is completed. It may be said that there are hundreds of miles of road which can. be paved afterwards; but the board is not assured that the hot-mix method is advisable for these roads, and, indeed, it has decided to investigate less expensive methods.

But whether the board decides that it can afford extra plant or not, there is one thing it certainly cannot afford, and that is to chop and chauge about with the order set for the paving. Yesterday's discussion disclosed a desire, on the part of some members at least, to make alterations so as to secure the early completion of roads in which they were particularly interested. In some instances they could plead urgency, the unsatisfactory present state of the road, .and the heavy traffic. But a big paving scheme cannot be carried out economically by- jumping from place to place, doing a mile here and then a mile there. It is much better to go ahead upon a, wellconsidered plan. This, we may be sure, will be more economical and also speedier in the long run. After all, the consideration of urgency is not one which lias been given great, weight in the past. It lias taken many, yean to decide tipou

a paving scheme and put it in working order. All this while roads have been steadily becoming worse. Having suffered this for years, it is unreasonable now to suggest that conditions in one locality are so bad that priority must be given at the price of disturbing a comprehensive plan.