HIGHWAY TO AUCKLAND

Northern Advocate, 15 November 1929, Page 4

HIGHWAY TO AUCKLAND

METALLING WORK DELAYED.

A.A.A. CONCERNED. Concern at the announcement .by the Main Highways Board that no metalling will be done’in the No 1 District before the new year is expressed by the Auckland Automobile Association. It was announced at a meeting of the Automobile Association- that an allocation of £05,249 had been made for/ work between Maungaturoto and Pnhoi, and of this sum there was about £6OOO liability, leaving 459,000 for this year. It had been anticipated that an all-weather route between Warkworth and Puhoi would havo been provided. The bad portion of the Waylay Gorge between Warkworth and the present metal at Way by ■ was then to bp, completed, and thee remaining unmetalled portion would , -permit traffic during the winter.

At the north end of the metal round Wellsford construction work was carried out last summer between Te Hara and Topuni, and it was hoped that this piece also would be metalled. The next important work was the ; reconstruction of the present rough surface between Tapuni and Kaiwaka, a section which provided a great amount, of work and which, to be carried out economically, would need to be done in tine weather. If the preliminary work was finished this summer it would allow a base of metal to be laid next summer, which would provide an all-weather route fr m Whdngarei to Auckland in 1931. Large supplies of metal have, already been stacked at various railway stations, and the delay has been viewed . with concern. The Automobile Association has .received advice that the metalling would not be commenced before the new year, Which allows only a short spell of tine weather to complete the comprehensive scheme. The Rodney County Council has notified that it has no intention of metalling the two new fillings in the Mangawai-Wayby main highway.