NEW ZEALAND'S BAD ROADS

Northland Age, Volume 14, Issue 33, 26 April 1917, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND'S BAD ROADS

f Zealand has bad roads, roads utterly unsuitable for oring; motors have come to anil road engineers must d roads for them. There are admissions by the Institute livil Engineers, or many years local bodies d hard to keep motors from roads. The motor was looked n as an usurper of the Highr and all sorts of obstacles e used in attempt to drive m off, and even to-day the tor is in many places unwelne. It is not without interest t the Chief Engineer of the die Works Department (Mr R. Holmes) should in his adiss to the Institute, severely casate road engineers in their k of foresight in not providing ds able to withstand motor flic. He expressed keen ilis[Kiinlment that no improve--nt had been made in New aland in the methods of road istruetion and that many of the in roads were not in as good :ondition to-day as they were the coaching days of forty ars ago. In impressing upon ; Institute the great economic luc of motor traffic. Mr limes urged that all road conduction, improvements and lintenance should be with the ject of extending the use of >tor driven freight vehicles, Uich, he pointed out, had, in iny places, become a success--1 competitor with the railway id will increase this competition th further improvements in Dtor fuel, vehicles and road lilding. Already the number of motor ;ers in this country is consider>le, and let it be here stated that 1 motors are not used for please. In fact, the amoumt of easure riding is extremely nail. Motors may be used by le commercial or the professionman, but his motor saves him me and money and when it is »ed the course of obtaining his velihood it can hardly be called pleasure motor. Still, apart tom that, motor traciton is raplly forcing itself upon this ountry. The surprise is that wners have for so long a time iterated the bad roads and unafe bridges over which they lust pass. The only appeal they an make for road improvement iow is to the local bodies that onstruct the roads, and in most :ases the local bodies arc so teavily burdened that all they ran do is to make temporary rejairs. The building and the upteep of the national highways s clearly not one for a large num>er of County and Borough Counts to haggle and dispute over, jut one for national enterpriseand national supervision. The time has come when the main arterial roads will be under State control and their upkeep undertaken by the State, with a fixed policy to be worked out by competent engineers. Without the control uniformity in road upkeep would be wanting and we would always have the same unsatisfactory conditions that we know at present. Motorists, through their clubs and

associations, could do much to keep the need for a better system of reading before the Government and to impress upon those responsible that State road maintenance would make for economy to the people and for better transit in the end. The State of Victoria, Australia, has set an example that might well be used in New Zealand as a starting point towards obtaining gooil roads. Victoria was the first Statetoestablish a Government Roads Department, under the political control of the Minister of Public Works. Parliament voted £2,000 000 for the reconstruction of roads which, in the opinion of the road engineers, should be taken over and classified as “main” roads. This sum was to be expended at the rate of £40,000 per annum for five years. The Government appointed a permanent boaril of three engineers, Messrs. Calder (chairman), Prickle and McCormick; the latter went to the war last year, and his post has not been temporarily filled. Theßoard

when appointed three years ago, spent several months inspecting the principal roads of the State, taking evidence from local residents and receiving deputations. A great storm of protest was hurled at the Government proposals, mostly of those who considered their Jobs menaced. The antipathy has died out in many shires as the work has progressed and scoffers have been forced to admit that until the Roads Board came into being Victorian Farmers had never experienced a good road. Six thousand miles of roads were marked as highways which should pass to Government control, and approximately j£l, 200,000 has already been expended in rebuilding. METHOD OF FINANCE The State provides 50 per cent of the capital cost and loans the balance to the shire or municipality through which the road is constructed. This sum has to be paid in 33 years. Additional rates up to 6d, in the £ can be levied to meet the cost which the shires have to pay. This limit was imposed to allay the fear that rates would be unduly high, but in many instances an appeal has been made to have this altered, so that local shires can put on higher rates, and so obtain a bigger mileage of “main” roads. Main road is a term used to dis-

tinguish a Government road from one under local control, and does not signify that the highway concerned links two important centres. As a matter of fact, many miles of isolated road have been built to meet the needs of local settlers, to enable them to reach the rail-head. REGRADING IMPORTANT One of the features of the Government road control is the attention given to gradients. It has been recognised that, not only must a road have a good service, but the grades must be such that the cost of hauling either by horse or mechanical means is reduced to the minimum. As in railway construction the steepest grade on any road determines the power necessary to haul; in nearly every case the Government road engineers have in place abandoned the old road altogether and constructed deviations which reduce the gradients to the lowest practicable point. Many protests were made when the Board first started to survey new deviations; in one instance a local storekeeper found himself a quarter of a mile off the road, but the people saw the wisdom in the deviation when the precipitous mountain gradients were supplanted by an almost level highway creeping round the sides of the mountainous hills. MAINTENANCE REVENUE In addition to the capital supplied, the Board receives for maintenance the taxes paid under the Motor Car Act, which in 1917, will reach over £5,000. They also receive rentals from unused roads leased for grazing purposes, and also the re-pay-ments made by shires During the past financial year the board spent for maintenance purposes I £98,878 13s Bd. This was partly expended on the roads classed as “main” roads, and partly on those not reconstructed, temporary repairs and new bridges being erected. CLASSES OF ROADS The board has carefully classified the roads, and according to traffic to be carried, so the specifications are prepared to meet the requirements. The Board having surveyed and prepared plans and specifications, calls tenders and the local shire engineer acts as constructing engineer, under the supervision of the Government road engineers. If the work is not proceeding satisfactory the board assumes control and carries out the work. This has been necessary on several roads which were not being rebuilt to the satisfaction of the Board.