EXTRA MAINTENANCE

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4955, 13 February 1937, Page 5

EXTRA MAINTENANCE

WAITOMO COUNTY ROADS. GANG OF MEN AND LORRY. A decision to purchase a motor lorry for the purpose of more intensive improvement to highways and County roads, and to have a gang of three or four men to carry out such improvements, was made by the Waitomo County Council yesterday. The truck is to be stationed at Te Kuiti and will carry out works in the Te Kuiti, Hangatiki, and portions of Mairoa and Tangitu ridings. If the scheme, which is a new departure for the Council, is successful, another truck will be purchased for the Aria, Paemako and Mahoenui ridings. Reporting on the proposition, the engineer said it was based on the necessity of improvements beyond the powers of County surfacemen to handle alone, but surfacemen could be employed with the gang system. The works proposed would be quarrying and cartage of maintenance metal, the widening of dangerous corners, and repairs to bridges, and the lorry and gang would also be used in conjunction with the 23ortable crushing plant. It had been intimated by the Highways Board that considerable improvements were necessary on the subsidiary highways, and Settlers' Association branches had also asked that dangerous corners be removed. It was very apparent that numerous roads required immediate attention, and he recommended the adoption of the gang system. The chairman, Mr. W. A. Lee, said he was not satisfied with the maintenance on outback roads, especially now that the £ISOO contributions to the main highways had not to be met. During the last nine months the engineer had found it increasingly difficult to obtain men for casual work and for trucks.

Cl’. Boddie said that with only a few surfacemen the Council could not adequately maintain its hundreds of miles of roads. He said it might be desirable to purchase another new grader soon. Tinkering at roads with surfacemen would not carry the Council far, and one truck should be purchased as soon as possible. Various aspects of the question were then discussed. It was stated that a somewhat similar method had been employed in Awakino in a limited fashion with a private truck. The clerk said that if the rate collection continued as high as last year, he was confident the scheme could be continued, and a large jDroportion of the hire of casual labour and of truck hire would be saved. Owing to the unfavourable weather this year, the allocations had not been spent, so that the finances would easily stand the purchase of one truck.

On Cr. Boddie’s motion it was decided to purchase the first truck. The engineer said that the roads around Pio Pio were in fair order, so that the Council might wait until the annual meeting to discuss the purchase of a second vehicle, when some idea of the success of the scheme would have been secured.