BETTER ROADS PLANNED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18763, 17 July 1924, Page 12

BETTER ROADS PLANNED

MT. WELLINGTON DISTINCT. PROPOSALS OF TH E BOARD. ■ •. /'O WIDER SCHEME WANTED. OPINION OF : RATEPAYERS. Definite - proposals for i: the permanent paving of three of the principal roads in the Mount' Wellington district were submitted by the Road Board to. a meeting of ratepayers held at Mount Wellington last evening. The hoard's proposals, while being generally acceptable to tho meeting, wferb not considered to bet. com - . enough, ancl, the meeting asked the board to submit a ' scheme that: would take into consideration all the roads in the district,, Mr„: G. Kay presided. ; | .'the. scheme, as submitted .i by the board's engineers, Messrs. S. T. Dibble and ]2. C. -Robinson, was that th-j portion of the Great South Road within tliu district, should be concreted at a cost of £15,000, half of which would be contributed by the Highways Board. Tho road was .at present in considerable disrepair, and the suggested improvements were based oii the Highways Board's requirements. The concrete would be 20ft. in width, with a depth of B£in. at the crown cad 6in. at the sides. The second road to be treated wonld he the |511erslie-Pan-mure Road, which would be bituminised. The wad was at present rough, but it possessed the necessary requirements- for a good foundation. The cost of the work was estimated at £5625. The third road was the Panmure-Otahuhu lload, which was carrying an enormous amount of traffic. . The skin of metal had been subjected to a gradual process of disintegration. Tho proposal, was for a bitumen road at a cost of £8521. It was also proposed to purchase plant for the construction work at a cost of £3500. The whole scheme, after allowing for

administration expenses, interest and sinking fund, deducting the Highways Board contribution for the Great South Road,, involved the sum. of £29,C00. A statement on the subject from the chairman of the Road Board, Mr.. J. Wood, "was read, He emphasised the heavy-expenditure at present spent on the roads. Each year on the Great South Road a depth of 3 l-3in. of the surface had to be replaced. On.the Ellerslie-Panmure road the loss was 2 l : sin., and on the Panmnre-Otalra.hu road Each year on the throe roads £2400 was spent in an endeavour to make the damage good. The result was a failure, as the execrable condition of the roads bore witness. If there were good reads in Mount Wellington the results would electrify the district. Mount Wellington was one of Auckland's residential heritages, and its rich, heavy, volcanic soil would make it a garden subwrb. Difficulty of access alone kept settlement away. The interest, sinking fund and maintenance charges sufficient to liquidate the debt of £29,000 in 30 vears and maintain the roads would amount to £2300 annually, while the present cost of maintenance was per annum, with deplorable results. Twc ratepayers complained of the inadequate treatment given to by-roads. It was asked why a reading scheme should not be applied to the whole district, so that all could have a square deal. The chairman replied that the matter was a new one for the board, tybich did not like to ask for too much money. Other ratepayers supported the idea ot a consolidated loan for all ro&ds. The •work on the subsidiary , roads need not be-started at once. The meeting eventually gave as its opinion that the board_ should seek authority to borrow sufficient money to put the "whole of the. roads in the district in good order. This involves addii tional engineering investigation.