A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 23 January 1926, Page 12

A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR.

A visitor to the district oi' very wide experience, in the course of which he line seen practically every country 111 the civilised world, Colonel G. »>’- moults, was in Hawera on Tuesday and Wednesday, and went on Ins journeyino- on ’Jhnrsday to see the Elthain • in*d Stratford roads and tsoine of the hack country roads behind those towns, and later the roads of North Taranaki. He was very pleased to get into a district which lias the inost 101ward roading policy in the Dominion, and was quite complimentary to the work of the county and borough en-o-ineers. , 0 lie was much struck with the vei\ comprehensive work done in Hawera, which he considered one ot the best loaded towns in the Dominion. And he commended the authorities highly for their enterprise. He considered the roads of the district would bear the burden of traffic well, and that they were well laid and looked after, except in one or two parts where sufficient care had not been given and the roads were suffering in consequence. ~ . It mav be of interest to note that in England, where are, it is considered, the finest roads in the world, they are laid with extraordinary thoroughness. Five inches of concrete is first put down and on this two inches of bitumen or tarvia with large metal, and on that again a coyer of two inches 01 similar material with binding. -file roads are made in the main thoroughfares SO feet of carriage width, and there is no speed limit. But drivers are expected to exercise common sense, to observe the white lines at corners, and to have no undue speed through villages and towns. The weight ot traffic to be carried is enormous, almost past belief. It is estimated that the stream of motor traffic is actually and absolutely continuous all day long, while the weight of motor bus traffic is estimated at many thousands of tons per day and the weight of individual conveyances reaches up to over tons ‘ These roads, it is estimated, will probably last 10 years before the too coat needs replacement. . It is wood to learn from eo eminent an authority that the Dominion is on vprht lines.' He was very much taken with the Hutt road, and is _ looking forward with interest to seeing the beauties and picturesqueness oi the road through to Hamilton and on to Auckland.