THREE-YEAR PLAN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22445, 27 September 1947, Page 8

THREE-YEAR PLAN

SOUTH HIGHWAY URGENT NATIONAL TASK SUBMISSION TO MINISTER Taking- the view that the provision of a sealed highway connection between Gisborne and Napier should be regarded as a national work, the communications and transport committee of the Gis-borne-East Coast Regional Council yesterday approved unanimously a proposal to ask the Minister of Works to make this highway the subject of a three-year plan.

Preference for the inland route from Gisborne to W'airoa, via Hangaroa, was expressed by the committee, which urged that this route be developed fully to modern highways standards.

The relative importance of Gisborne’s claims for highway communications of the highest standard was stressed bj r the chairman, Mr. T. A. N. Corson, who held that the committee should press for early action on the part of the Government. He pointed out that other districts had been more liberally treated in the past, and that this district had had to wait a long time for its turn.

Attendance at the meeting was highly representative, including the chairmen of four county councils and delegates from a number of other district organisations, as well as of the Works Department. Minister Schedules Proposals Discussion centred upon the terms of a letter from the Minister of Works. Mr. R. Semple, placed before the meeting by the chairman. This letter gave an outline of the,works proposed for the 1947-48 season in this district under the main highways programme. The Minister stated that insofar as man-power was available it was intended to carry out highways work in the Gisborne district during this year to a value of not less than £179.000, this figure being some £70.000 in excess of the sum made available in last year’s highways budget. Details of the works projected and. in some cases, already in hand, were given by Mr. Semple as under: Glsborne-Whakaiane, via Waioeka,

State Highway “(a) Reconstruction to modern standards of alignment, and bituminous surfacing of 4J» miles between Kaiteratahi and Te Karaka. “(b) Improvements and widening of Trafford s Hill between Matawai and Waioeka Gorge. This work is well advanced and is being pushed to completion. “(c) Cutting back of corners and improvements in the lower Waioeka as man-power permits Gisborne-Te Araroa State Highway “(a) Surveys have been completed and plans are well advanced for the construction of a permanent bridge to replace the Bailey bridge over the Pouawa River. "(b) Plans have been completed for complete re-alignment and reconstruction of 1J miles of what is known as the Mangatuna deviation. Work will be commenced as soon as forces are available.

“(c) Plans are being completed for about one mile of deviation at Jerusalem. Money for construction has been provided and work will be put in hand as opportunity offers, Patutahi-Rere Main Highway “(a) It is planned to strengthen and seal an additional three miles of this highway. Te Araroa Opotiki Main Highway “(a) Proposals are in hand for the Waitaukekara bridge and a deviation at Hicks Bay. Gisborne-Wairoa, via Morerc, Main Highway

“(a) Work is now in hand for realignment, strengthening and bituminous surfacing of nine miles between Muriwai and the foot of the Wharerata Hill.

"(b) Widening and improvements are in hand on the Wharerata Hill ‘(c) Improvements and sealing at Morere Springs. “(d) Preparation and sealing through

the Nuhaka township. “(e) Preparation in readiness for sealing on the Wairoa side of Nuhaka. Gisborne-Napicr, via Hangaroa, State Highway

“(a) If workers become available two sections between Opoiti _ and Frasertown are to be re-aligned

and widened. “(b) Metalling and sealing of new alignment between Fraserfown

and Wairoa. “(c) Re-aligning, strengthening and bituminous surfacing of six miles on the southern side of Wairoa. Fully Bituminised Highway

“It is aimed to provide a bituminous surfaced road for the full extent between Gisborne and Napier at an early date, and everything possible to this end is being done,” the Minister’s letter stated. ‘You inquired regarding wor-c in the Waioeka Gorge. Major improvements throughout the length of the Gorge will be very tieavy work and while hydro-electric works and housing continue to absorb most of the construction forces it will not be possible to undertake comprehensive reconstruction. However, the possibilities of bringing this highway more into line with modern standards are being investigated. I am fully appreciative of the importance of this route and as man-power and forces become available in sufficient quantities -verything practicable will be done to provide Gisborne with an up-to-date highway to the north.”

Advice that a further £II,OOO had been granted for work on district' highways since the Minister’s letter was written was given by Mr. W. E. McEnnis, resident engineer, who drew attention to the fact that Gisborne was one of 18 highways districts in the Dominion, and by no means the largest. The total finance available for highways works for the year was £2,854,000 ,and Gisborne’s £190,000 represented about onefifteenth of that total. “We have received a pretty fair share off the plate,” commented Mr. McEnnis. The position was even.better when the allocation for improvements and new construction was considered in relation to the national total, he added. In this district £82,900 was provided for this purpose, and this sum was near enough to one-seventh of the total voted for the whole Dominion. Find Weather Necessary

In reply to the chairman, Mr, McEnnis stated that the Trafford’s Hill job was proceeding throughout the winter, but fine weather was necessary for most of the jobs contemplated. Started in bad/weather, they might cost three or four Unites as much. Moreover, much of the work was tied up with the supply of bridge materials and culvert piping. The view that the district could do with more money, but should concentrate for the present on getting the money now available expended was offered by Mr. A. A. Fraser, who received support from other county representatives and Mr. McEnnis. Availability of man-power for summer works was dealt with by Mr. R. W. Chappell, who stated that after primary industry was manned there would still be a pool of man-power for publicworks projects; if the supply was not sufficient, labour could be secured from other districts. . , Endorsement of the views of Messrs. McEnnis and Fraser, was voiced by Mr. E. H. Baker, who, however, urged that too little importance was given in the Minister’s review of new works to the inland route, via Hangaroa. People living in the hinterland were much concerned, he said, at the absence of any developmental programme, for this route. A further point raised by Mr. Baker was that money spent on winter works promotion schemes should not be charged fully to Main Highways Board finance, which should bear only the cost of the real value of work done on highways under these schemes- ■ . The fact that 95 miles of main high-

way remained unsealed between Gisborne and Napier, via the Hangaroa route, and 104 miles via the Morere route, was referred to by Mr. G. A. Nicholls in support of an argument that special allocations might be fairly claimed for district highways. No other town of the same size in the North Island was without fully bitumenised access, he said, and Gisborne was entitled to ask for a special priority for its southern highway. ‘The Gisborne - Napier highway should be made a national work, and I would suggest a three-year plan which would provide for complete improvements up to the fully-sealed stage," said Mr. Nicholls, who moved that this proposal be placed before the Minister of Works. He later added a proviso that the Hangaroa route should be developed as the principal arterial route between Gisborne and Wairoa, pointing out that some heavy construction work would require an "early start if it was to be completed in three years. The favourable treatment accorded to some other districts was discussed with keen interest by the meeting, and it was pointed out that in some areas good bitumen highways sections w<;re being abandoned for new alignments. Mr. McEnnis stated in reply to a question that the Main Highways Board Pad expressed no preference for either tlie Morere or the Hangaroa route between Gisborne and Wairoa. He felt Mr. Nicholls’ motion was rather impetuous as the Hangaroa road would be more than a three-year job. more especially in view of the present difficulty of keeping mechanical plant in operation owing .to shortage of parts. “We must go to the Minister with a strong case,” remarked Mr. Nicholls, who held that there was enough plant in New Zealand to do quickly any job which the Minister recognised as an urgent national project. He added that the Hangaroa route was superior because of the better grades and absence of fogs which made Morere a tricky route at times. Subsidies for Country Roads

The possibility that concentration of attention on main highways might affect progress oh settlement roads was raised by Mr. H. R. Irving, but it was pointed out that availability of money did not seem to be the prime factor in the situation.

Mr. Baker stated that the Government had always found subsidies for country roads, irrespective of the amounts spent on the highways, and he presumed that this system would continue.

This portion of the discussion concluded with the carrying of Mr. Nicholls' motion.

. On the motion of Mr. D. W. W. Williams, the meeting also decided to ask the Minister of Works to expedite as jar as possible the provision of bridging materials in advance of the general construction programme. The mover stated that much culverting and bridging work was behind-hand owing principally to lack of steel reinforcing; and he suggested that if scheduled highways improvement projects were not assured of progress plans should be made to expend the relative votes elsewhere rather than carry them forward as credits to the following year. Thig, led to a discussion on bridge replacement _ throughout the district and a decision, on the motion of Mr. Baker, to ask the Government to consider urgently the necessity of reinstating the manv defective bridges on highways and county roads in the district.