HIGHWAY WORKS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 79, 2 March 1938, Page 8

HIGHWAY WORKS

IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND. RECONSTRUCTION AND SEALING

Nearly a mile of the St.ate highway leading toward Foxton from - Palmerston North, between the city boundary and the Mangaone Stream bridge, is at present undergoing reconstruction and sealing. Half the length has been dealt with, up to the priming stage, and' operations are now proceeding on the remaining section. It was explained to a “Standard reporter to-day that over that paiticular length the highway had been very much out of shape, with an exceptionally high camber, judged by modern standards. By far the most satisfactory ■ method of re-forming roads of that type had been found to lie taking the road up altogether and completely reconstructing it. Thij Public Works Department and local authorities now adopted the practice of doing a certain amount of the work themselvos, letting the sealing by contract. In this case half the length, actually 72 chains in all, has been reconstructed and “mimed,” the sealing remaining to be done. The large blocks of material forming the old surface break up under the action of the scarifier in most cases and are used again in what is known ns the base course of the new road. Those portions which do not break up are swept to the side of the road by the usual action of the grader, along with other material of any appreciable size.

A length of similar road work has already been completed at Wliakarongo, while last season the length over Mount Stewart was reconstructed and primed. A contract has been let for the sealing of that part of the latter highway and it is expected that the actual sealing will be done about the end of this week. Another sealing contract has been let in respect of the portion of the deviation at Whirokino which is already being used by traffic and which was previously primed. On highway No. 60 (Palmerston North-Levin, via Shannon) good progress is being made, and there are 110 men engaged in the undertaking, 45 being employed at the Makerua end and 1 65 at the Palmerston North end. For a distance of two miles and 20 chains at the Makerua end, toward Palmerston North, the reconstruction work has been completed and the roadway is on its ultimate alignment; also, much of the heavy work between the Palmerston North end of the road and the Kahuterawa Stream bridge has been almost completed. Between Tokomaru and Linton the crests of the “switch-back” formation are to be attended to, the tops taken off and the valleys filled in. A further interesting feature will be the improvement of the sharp bend on the steep incline at Linton. A wide curve is to elinfinate this bend the new alignment running behind the present point formed by the highway and joining the road at the ton of the hill with that in the valley below in a broad sweep.