THE WHIROKINO HIGHWAY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 116, 17 April 1939, Page 6

THE WHIROKINO HIGHWAY

In its configuration New Zealand lends itself in many places to spectacular achievement in the construction of public works. Government and other engineers have at times been set big problems in conquering natural landscapes when building roads, bridges, or railways, but they have succeeded in an arresting manner, in this district there are not, perhaps, the great problems that confront builders in the mountains or other places where in past ages cataclysmic forces have shattered the land. But we have our examples and successes. The highway through the Mauawatu Gorge stands as a brilliant engineering _ feat, but the tendency to-day is to accept as commonplace what would be regarded in another age as a triumph over tremendous difficulties. The new road bridge across the Whirokino swamp, which was opened to the general public on Saturday, is another achievement of outstanding merit, and a work which may well be accepted as a standard for other countries similarly situated. The road from the outskirts of Foxton to the Mauawatu River bridge has been a source of much trouble not only to the controlling authority, but also to the travelling public. To the former because of the cost of maintenance as road material became buried in the soft bed, and to the latter because when _ the river rose above a certain height the road became flooded and its dewatering was often a matter of weeks. The Government energetically took the matter up in 1935, made the highway a national one, and accepted the responsibility for building a road immune from flooding. It has succeeded very well and its engineers may be justly proud of the edifice they have erected, unique in its design and secure from the flooding which caused much loss and inconvenience in the past. It is the first stage in a most important work on the WellingtonAuchland highway; the next will be the construction of a new bridge to replace the wooden one built 39 years ago and most unsuitable for modern requirements.