King Country Chronicle Tuesday, December 20, 1927. THE CAVES-HANGATIKI ROAD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 2516, 20 December 1927, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Tuesday, December 20, 1927. THE CAVES-HANGATIKI ROAD.

Ihere is every prospect" that another record will be established this year in the number of visitors to the Waitomo Caves. Everyone of these sight-seers will have to make use of the road between Hangatiki and the hostel, and it is inevitable that there will be some very adverse comment on the deplorable condition of this small stretch of the main highway. The Tourist Department states that it has no authority for spending money on the road. The Main Highway Board has made a grant of £3 for £l, provided the ratepayers find £3OO a year, but this is not going to be any satisfaction lo the settlers concerned. Even in normal times the bulk of the traffic along this road comes from the outside districts, but during building operations at the hostel the road has been subjected to, a severe test, from which it has emerged in a very mutilated condition. This work is under the supervision of the Public Works Department, and it is the duty of that Department to recondition the road, the cost of which, according tc the County engineer, would be over £2OOO. If the Waitomo Caves were a private enterprise, the County Council would be in a position to force the owners to repair the damage brought about by heavy cartage during building operations, but being controlled by the Government the County has no such recourse. The County has placed restrictions on its own ratepayers, but in regard to heavy traffic as has taken place on the road for the last nine, months, it has no remedy. The traffic on the Caves Road was necessary, but it is far from equitable to ask the ratepayers concerned to find extra money for the damage done. There is surely a sound case for the County Council when it asks that either the Main Highways Board or the Public Works Department be called upon to put this road in the same condition as it was prior to building operations at the hostel. It would seem, however*, that the Public Works Department is solely responsible for this damage, and should therefore pay.