HEAVY LOADS ON HIGHWAYS: ISSUE DISCUSSED

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 October 1948, Page 7

HEAVY LOADS ON HIGHWAYS: ISSUE DISCUSSED

“It has been estimated that the total cost of road construction, c o m ” plete with sealing, will be about £20,000 a mile if highways have to be made to take loads of eight to nine tons, compared with the present axle limit of five tons and a half, said Mr D. H. Cockburn, a member of tne Main Highways Board, at the annual conference of .the South Island Local Bodies’ Association at Westport yesterday. ' , He was speaking on the possible effects on transport costs if the Transport Department insisted on adherence to the present • Mr Cockburn said that there was a i present a delay to road contracts in the Nelson district, and the Mam Highways Board was attempting to clarify problems of load limitations. It would be a serious thing for transport operators if they were forced to adhere strictly to the regulations, but on the other hand it was doubtful if the country’s economy could stand the cost, of bringing roads up to the standard required to take the heavier loads. j Mr L. R. Palmer, secretary of the Nelson, Marlborough, and West Coast League of Local Bodies, said he estimated that costs would rise by more than 75 per cent, if the present reading regulations were enforced. The position would be very serious in the districts he represented, where it might not be economical to carry fruit, produce, timber, and coal by roadi Then, of course, the public would suffer. Mr W. H. Gourley (Buller county) said that his district, which relied a good deal on road transport for the carriage of farm produce and timber from Karamea and Charleston to Westport, and coal from Charleston, would suffer if lighter loads were insisted on. The following remit, moved by Mr Palmer and seconded by Mr Gourley, was carried: “That the conference desires to impress upon the Minister of Transport. (Mr F. Hackett) and the Minister of Works (Mr R. Semple) the urgency of deciding on the question of the issue of heavy traffic licences, the method of some uninefid control, and, above all, the maximum standard by which the highways are to be constructed, taking into account, the economic aspect and the ability of the country to meet the costs.”