KAWHIA COUNTY COUNCIL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 523, 4 December 1912, Page 7

KAWHIA COUNTY COUNCIL.

ENGINEERS' REPORT,' Since making my last report I have made an engineering survey of about twenty-five chains of the Taumatatotara road East, and prepared plans of the work in readiness for expenditure of future grants, An engineering survey has also been made of 100 chains of the Awaroa to Mahoe road, and I have commenced preparing plans of the work. Plans and specifications for erecting the Mangatanga stream bridge and large culvert on Whakapirau road have been approved by the district engineer, and tenders were invited for this work to close on November s tb. but as no tenders were received I altered the date of closing to November 26th when again no tenders wece received. As Mr W. H. Armstrong has taken over the Oparau launch service I was unable to secure his assistance, but I have employed Mr J. C. K. Clarke as assistant under the same conditions of employment. The weather has greatly improved since your last meeting and the roads have dried considerably, and all are now in a very fair state. Mr F. Eshelby is making good progress with the reforming and metalling of the Kinohaku to Waiharakeke road from the Oteke bridge to the landing shed, and MrH. Swanson has again commenced work on his metalling contract on Kawhia-Maro-kopa river road. The Lemon Point wharf and cattle race has been completed with the exception of a little earthwork on the approach to the wharf, and the shed and steps at Waiharakeke have also been completed. The old shed.at Lemon Point has been removed to the end of the wharf and will be used as a storage shed for the present. In regard to the Waiharakeke shed, I found it necessary to make some alterations which will mean an extra expenditure. The shed and steps were designed to rest on an embankment with a slope of one and a half to one, but as the bridge abutment where it was desired the shed should be built, the slope was equal to quarter to one, which made longer studs necessary, and also the driving of four piles. The work of metalling bad holes on the Aotea beach (Kawhia to Aotea road) has been completed, and good progress is being made with the widening work on the Waitetuna to Aotea road. The road approach to the Oparau landing shed has also been completed. In conjunction with the Public Works Department, I have carried out some repairs on the Kawhia to Pirongia road near the cemetery, and this formerly bad portion of road is now in fair order. The contractor has almost completed the formation work on the Kauri branch road, and has commenced cutting the timber for the small bridge over the Waiinumia stream. Mr F. G. Stokes has again commenced work on his metalling contract on the Okupata road, and Messrs Daviea and Schreiber Bros, have quarried some 2000 cubic yards of-"stone ready for crushing, and expect to commence laying metal almost at once. Messrs Murray and, Love are making good progress with their formation contract on this road. In regard to the road grader which was ordered some months ago, I was advised early in October that it would be landed in Wellington early in that month, but all efforts to trace it until recently have been futile. I now learn that it was not consigned to Kawhia County Council as advised, but was bv mistake consigned to the makers who forwarded it. Arrangements are now being made to have it forwarded on to Kawhia. I have gone into the matter of a cool storage shed for Kinohaku on the same lines as the shed at Kawhia only smaller. It will be 6ft by Bft by Bft stud, and will cost approximately £lB. I propose to build it on the end of the wharf opposite the steps and facing the rane and platform in front of the ordinary goods shed. Several tons of butter could be stored in a shed of this size. In regard to a repair-slip for launches: I have a list of launch owners who will use the slip if built, and each has stated how often they expect to make use of it, and the amount of hire they would expect to pay on each occasion. The slip would be used at least thirty times a year, and all agree on 5s as a reasonable amount to pay for hire. The revenue would therefore be £7 lOsj which would be ample to pay interest, and a liberal allowance for deterioration. There are several launch owners who I have not seen, in reference to this matter who 1 think are very liklsy to make use of the slip, and in addition I would suggest a levy of 7s 6d on unlicensed launches, and in the event of any undergoing extensive repairs a sum of 5s per day be charged. I propose to employ my assistant in making an engineering survey of about two miles of the Kaimango road, and similar work on other roads for which grants are received from time to time. —G. GOULD, County Engineer.