MAIN HIGHWAYS BOARD

Evening Star, Issue 19773, 25 January 1928, Page 11

MAIN HIGHWAYS BOARD

TAIERI COUNTY’S REQUIREMENTS At Mosgiel yesterday, in laying the requirements of the Taieri County before the Main Highways Board, Air Blair said that the council’s policy since tiie coming into operation of the Main .Highways Act has been to allocate as much money as funds would allow for main highway maintenance, and, while the effort might not have been quite as successful as they had hoped for, they at least had the satisfaction of knowing that the main highways surface had not been allowed to deteriorate to any appreciable extent as yet, due mainly to the extra maintenance made possible by the increases in the Main Highways Board subsidy from time to time. They recognised that a more progressive method was necessary to obtain a road surface sufficiently strong to hold the traffic, but they had many miles of district roads which were carrying increased traffic, and they could not neglect their needs or suffer the funds for their maintenance to bo , depleted by a call for expenditure on roads which ran parallel with the railways. This discrimination was already recognised by the Public Works Department, which subsidised local bodies’ railages on metal for repair to roads which served ns “feeder routes” to the railway. They had conferred with the board’s representative in Dunedin with regard to a scheme for dealing with progressive maintenance work on the main highway—Green Island to Taieri Ferry bridge—and understood that Mr Marks had reported to _ the Highways Board on the deliberations. Besides the main highway, Green Island to Taieri Ferry bridge, there was the stretch from Mosgiel Junction to Middlemarch Post Office a coat of eight to tea cubic yards of gravel to the chain on this clay formation would make this length of road good for traffic in the future. Jf the board could see its way to treat this as a special circumstance the council would make an effort to do its part io have the work carried out before next winter season came on. Mr Furkert asked bow much the county was prepared to pay for a road. Mr Blair said that the ratepayers should not sanction a loan. Mr Furkert: Perhaps you could make some annual payment that would amount to the same thing. Mr Blair said that the county would pay its share if the board could find a way of financing it. M r Furkert said that the matter would have 'to he considered. Thera seemed to be an inherent dislike in the south of New Zealand to loans, but I; he re was no doubt that special circumstances obtained in the Taieri. BRUCE COUNTY’S APPLICATION. At Milton the party was met by representatives of the Bruce County Council and the Milton Borough at a meeting in the county office. Mr A. Renton, chairman of the Bruce County Council, presided, and said that since the last visit of the board the council had gone over from the riding to the general account system in accordance with the wishes of the board. In putting the requirements of the county before the members, he asked that the portion of the main road securing the 3 to 1 subsidy _be extended for fifteen miles from Taieri Ferry to Clarkesville. The cost of treatment with Balelutha gravel would bo £12,000. He further asked that the same be done to a stretch from Clarkesville to Balelutha, a distance of fourteen miles. They wished to be placed in the same position as the Taieri County, as thev considered that the bulk of the traffic after leaving Mosgiel passed through Milton. Air Furkert said it was quite impossible at present to give an answer to the requests that had been sprung on to the board. It was a matter for consideration when all the figures relating to secondary roads came in, but he did not expect that the board would be able to go as far as that. He was pleased to hear that the county had put its administration on a more busi-ness-like basis, and he had been very agreeably surprised to see the improvement that had taken place in the condition of the main road since the last visit of the board. Air L. W. Potter, Alayor of the Milton Borough, placed before the board the expenditure on the mam road through the town. In 1926-27 the borough had spent £1,068, and ceived assistance to the extent or £-.ob. He would like Air Jull _to make a statement as to the position. Mr Jnll explained the measures that the board was taking in declaring as main highways the main roads through boroughs. This would supply the borough of 30s in the £.