ROADS AND BRIDGES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19418, 28 August 1926, Page 12

ROADS AND BRIDGES.

HAURAKI PLAINS PROPOSAL; SCHEME TO COST £92,560. DETAILS TO BE DISCUSSED. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] THAMES. Friday. At a special meeting of the Hauraki Plains County Council the chairman, Mr. E. Walton, submitted a comprehensive roaciing and bridging scheme to cover the whole of the county. The estimated cost is £92,560, of which amount roading was expected to absorb £77,960 and bridges £14,600. The roads included in • the proposal were:—(l) The section of the Pokeno* Waihi main highway, from the western boundary of the county to the Puke' Bridge; (2) the section of the main highway from Orongo Ferry to Dslgety's Corner; (3) the Orongo-Netherton Road, from Orongo to the Pekapeka Road; (4) Orchard East Road, Parry's Corner to the Turua Road; (5) the, Ngatea-Kaihere-Patetonga Road. The bridges included were:—(l) Hauraki; (2) Pipiroa; (3) Ngarua Landing; (4) Waitakaruru Stream; (5) Watakaruru Canal; (6) Ngatea; (7) Puke; (8) Maukoro.

Points in favour of such a scheme operating over the whole of the county as against its division into ridings or sections were that the 'first year's interest (£6500) would be dispensed with and. when the time arrived for the loan to be repaid the cost to the ratepayer would be negligible, .amounting to 1.07 d for roads and .36d for bridges, totalling less than l£d. If the proposals were carried out by,.rid-, ings the rate would vary from l£d to sd. It would be obvious, therefore, that the striking of a flat rate over the whole of the county was a much cheaper way of meeting the cost. Fifty-two Miles of Koad. The scheme had as its main object the provision of perfect roads on the highways and main arterial routes throughout the county in conformity with the recommendations of the Main Highways Board. The necessary metal to cover the unmetalled portions of the 52 miles of roading included in the scheme would be supplied from the council's quarries and would be surfaced with the red metal from McCallum's Island, in the Hauraki Gulf, . now so extensively used throughout the county and in and around the city of. Auckland. The merging of loans already raised was a feature of the scheme, which would also greatly simplify maintenance problems. Furthermore, Plains settlers would be afforded much-needed smooth outlet roads and in some cases shorter routes to Auckland and other places. Some such scheme was s required to cope with the heavily increasing volume of traffic through the county from Rotorua, Matamata, Morrinsville and Waitoa from the south, Bay of Plenty, Waihi and . Paeroa from the - east, Thames and Coromandel from the north and Auckland from the north-west. Mr. . Hicks considered the Horahia Riding was at a disadvantage under the proposal in being .called on to pay an increase of l-5d over the cost of carrying out the scheme in. sections. Mr. Harris did not think the Horahia Riding.had anything to worry about. He was. sure the scheme would result in the reaping of very .material future benefits. ;It was-conceived on broad and , sensible line's; and he would support it. • ? ■ ; ; Other • meiribers '-'of:' the "council Agreed with this view. •'■ • • The Mileage in Ridings. , . It was stated that the mileage-in each riding to be metalled and maintained , undSr the scheme was>—Waitakaruru"-5A Pipiroa, 7; Ngatea, Patetonga,\ 6 ; Horahia,. 4§;. Kerepeehi, 4J;> Nethcrton, .44; ' Kopuarahi, 5; .Turua,, ,9;. an average of 5£ miles a riding. The chairman characterised the proposal as the first attempt by the council to get' away from parochialism and to adopt the policy of taking the broader, and more open-minded viow in local affairs. While a majority, of 'the 'members approved, of the proposals there were others who would give support only on certain conditions. It had been his intention, if .the council approved of the proposal to hold a series of meetings in the various ; ridings, . after which the scheme could be finalised .and put to ,the ratepayers by way of a poll. It was decided that Messrs! Miller,' Madgwick, Reid 'and 'Hicks, should confer with the engineer and the clerk with a view to arriving at a satisfactory solution of the details.