WHIROKINO DEVIATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 190, 13 July 1936, Page 2

WHIROKINO DEVIATION.

DIVERGENT VIEWS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) FOXTON, July 11. The Whirokino highway deviation came in for a brief discussion at tho meeting of the Moutoa Drainage Beard. Trustee D. Purcell said that he had inspected the work now in progress and the I’ublic . Works Department was certainly making a splendid job of the northern deviation.

The chairman (Mr J.' Chrystall) was not of the same opinion, however, lie considered the northern deviation unnecessary and expressed the opinion flat the read should have followed the original route as there was ample ground available at the corners of both Johnston and Patrick Stroeis to permit an improvement of those corners. “In my opinion,” he concluded, “it is an absolute waste of money.” Mr Chrystall asked what the various excavations along the route were for, and Trustee Purcell said that these were to provide filling for the raising of the read. Tho chairman said that he had told those in charge of the work of the existence of a seam of metal below the surface in the vicinity of Ross’s hill. He thought they would have used this, but supposed the presence of water would prevent its excavation.

Trustee W. E. Barber (chairman of the Manawatu County Council) : The council knew all about that, but it was too hard to get at. Still, grab dredges would experience no difficulty in digging the metal out.

Trustee Barber said that Mr B. G. Gower had asked him to draw attention to a “pocket”- which was being left, by the department between the ramp and the bridge over 11 io Main Drain.

The chairman expressed flic opinion that the waur would find its way back into the Main Drain.

Trustee Woods said that there would have been no water over tho Whirokino road recently had it not been for tho gap in the floodbank on Mr Burke’s property to the west of the highway. There was a gap in the bank which allowed the river to flow into the lower Wlhrokino basin with every spring tide.