NO. 60 HIGHWAY

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 115, 11 April 1930, Page 4

NO. 60 HIGHWAY

PAVING AN EXPENSIVE UNDERTAKING. WOULD COST OVER £40,000. Attention has recently been drawn to the condition of the .ten miles of No. 60 highway in the Fitzherbert Riding of the Kairanga County Council, line highway, stretching between 1 aimerston North and Tokomaru, is still a gravel road and it is contended in some quarters that it should be tar-sealed. A'large sum of money is likely to be involved as the cost of bringing tne road in question up to the standard desired, it is estimated, would be' between £40,000 and £50,000. Yesterday afternoon a . Standard reporter travelled over the.ten miles ot road in question in company "'it' l engineer of the Kairanga County Council, Mr J. E. Menzies. Men were at work with the grader and a considerable amount of widening was being done at intervals. "" . The road is in far better condition than it was a few days ago, the rain, coupled with judicious grading, haying effected a wonderful improvement. Though no plans have yet been adopted for the work, Mr Menzies .was able to indicate some of the salient features. On the firet five miles not a great deal has to be done before the road is sealed. A number of deviations will be made which will not only appreciably shorten the highway, but will give better visibility at bends. Tho cost of this section, Mr Menzies considered, would be approximately £2OOO per mile, or £IO,OOO for tho stretch, i Far heavier work'is, however, entailed on the second portion. One improvement that will, be effected, possibly by a large cutting and deviation, is on the Linton bend. This Mr Menzies considers to be the worst turn on the Main highways between Palmerston North and Wellington, the fact that it is on a steep incline, making it the more difficult to negotiate. Another expensive undertaking will be the levelling-off of the tops of the rises which occur at frequent intervals, badly affecting the visibility necessary for modem high-speed traffic. Asked for an estimate of the expense, Mr Menzies said that, roughly, the cost for the whole ten miles would be £45,000. Should the Highways Board approve of the sealing of No. 60 highway, a subsidy of £3 for £1 would be given ■ to the Kairanga County Council. The Fitzherbert Riding would be required to find about £II,OOO and the money would be raised by loan. The work, Mr Menzies stated, would, probably be spread over a, period of about three years." At the November meeting of the Kairanga C<. % ity Council Cr. Moody, one of. the representatives of the Fitzherbert riding, commented that there had been some criticism because the road had not been tar-sealed. In his opinion, the work would be exceedingly costly. Since then the matter hac* not come before the council. The Main Highways Board have been concentrating their energies in. this district on the No. 1 Highway, or the Main North Road, whiqh proceeds from Levin through FoxtOn and Sanson. A certain amount oj tar-sealing has been done by the Countv Council, but a stretch in the Makerua district, and ai" ther near Shannon are still metalled. A gang of Porkers recruited from the unemployed ranks has been engaged on deviation work between Shannon and Levin. It will be remembered that when the Horowhenua County Council were engaged in paving work on the No. 60 highway, some criticism was levelled at that body for improving the road. It was contended that the council should ■ have concentrated on the main road from Wellington and that their work was a favour to Palmerston North, as it tended to send traffic through this town instead of following the usual route through Foxton and Sanson. But motorists who have cause to use the road to Wellington via Shannon and Levin appreciate the improvement work being carried out which, when completed, will transform the road into one of safe and easy grades.