NORTH ISLAND ROADS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20602, 28 June 1930, Page 12 (Supplement)

NORTH ISLAND ROADS.

GENERAL IMPROVEMENT.

SVOEK OF HIGHWAYS BOARD.

A glowipg - tribute to the- work of thq Main Highways Board is. paid by.: the. touring ! manager of the Auckland Automobile Association, who returned last week after a .2000-mile inspection of the main routes of the North Island, practically ■ all the main road 3 south of the Auckland 'Province being minutely inspected. In Taranaki the narrow, tarsealed roads with their rough shoulders ore gradually. disappearing, and in their place are the wider surfaces which: permit two cars to pass in comfort, he said. Even the back roads'are receiving attention, and, in many instances, show a marked improvement. Between Opunake and New Plymouth a number of bad corners being obviated, and the construction- of new and-up-to-date bridegs on straightcr alignment is making a marked improvement. , ' The Wellington district is particularly favoured with long lengths of permanently Burfaced roads, which greatly add to the pleasure of motoring. Particular attention has been paid to super-elevation on curves,' and, in numerous instances, white lines aro being laid for the controlling of the streams of motor traffic which use many of the routes during the holidays and week-ends. Iri Wairarapa much lias been done, and many improvements are under way, widening and straightening and making the highways safer for motor transport. The hill road over the Rimutakas is in excellent order, and in many places there is room for threo cars abreast. The grades are particularly easy, and, although the road rise 3 to almost 2000 ft., there is no suspicion of heavy climbing. The abundance of river shingle simplifies road making, and good, wide highways are a feature of the district. Manawatu and the Chateau. Some of the surfaces in the Manawatu area aro not quite up to the standard of former years, although on othpr roads the conditions are quite the opposite. This particularly applies in the vicinity of Palnierston North, the tar-sealed road between this centro and Awahnri being a particularly fino road. Road connection to the central portion of the Island and the National Park is now availablo at all seasons of the year. The route through Taihape and Ohakune provides quite comfortable .. travelling without any severe climbing, and the work which has been carried out through the Parapara from Wanganui to Raetihi • also provides good access. Further improvements are being

carried out and even more comfortable conditions can be expected before the noxl touring season. From Raetibi and Chakuna to the Chateau Tongariro is metalled, although from the railway station to the Chateau itself the road is somewhat pot-holed owing to the exceptional amount of traffic. Here improvements are also being carried • out, and a portion of the road has already been widened and surfaced. , r ' T&upo and Eotorua. | From the south, Taranaki can be reached in all weathers, although there are still unmetalled. sections. These' are, .however, of pumice formation, and so no undue troublo is experienced. The main highway northwards to Te Kuiti also permits traffic during the winter. Here also there are pumice sections, which, however, do not suffer very severely in the wet, but as portions of the road are under constuction there must necessarily be a certain amount of roughness and inconvenience during the wet period. Every endeavour is being mado to inconvenience the travelling public as little as possible, and there should be no likelihood of a hold up. Tourists bent on pleasure are, however, advised that the route via Taupo should in reasonable weather provide more comfortable travelling to the Chateau for the next few months. ' Most of the pumice surfaces- in the vicinity of Tokaanu, Taupo and Eotorua are in reasonable order, but with u long spell of wet weather it cannot be expected £hat these roads will be absolutely free from holes. Since the Main Highways Board has taken over the maintenance of the hill section of the Te Kuiti-New Plymouth road a marked improvement has been noted, and the old rough surface, which has caused so much discomfit in the past, now provides comfortable travel. Long lengths of additional tar-sealing have been carried out south of Mokau, and further improvements are expected before next summer.

North of Otorohanga. The boarchhas also undertaken the maintenance on' either side of Otorohanga. and where work is in progress on the northern Bide of ti is township better conditions are now experienced. Loose metal and heavy sand is now not being spread quite so generously on the Ngaruawahii-Hamilton road, with the result that thu surface is less treacherous than usual. There is no doubt that thp wet weather has helped considerably in the consolidation of the road. Reconstruction is being carried uut between '.b c tar-sealed stretches at Huntly and OhiDtswai, and the road is being raised above flood level preparatory to tar-sealing. There. Is also an improvement on the Pok9no-Papakura road. A finer metal is being used, and there is not the depth of loose metal that lias been apparent for so long. The high crown in many places, however, still makes tho road very dangerous, and portions of this length are probably the most treacherous that are experienced between Auckland and Wellington on tho No. 1 Highway. Extensive Relief Work. The urgent need of efficient maintenance that bas been stressed by tho Main Highways Board during tho past few years is now showing result, and in all directions the qo-operation of local bodies in carrying out regular grading is showing beneficial results. There can bo no doubt that the road user is now receiving a much greater benefit from motor taxation. A very noticeable feature through tho country is tho amount of relief work which is being carried out on back roads. Back country residents will thus derive n great deal of benefit in improved access from these activities. Unfortunately, re lief work is mainly confined to construction, find, although the access then provided will be available in summer months, there still rema'ns tho question of providing metal to bring now roads up to all-weather conditions. ITALIAN SPEED ROADS. Roads laid by the Caesars 2.000 years ago in Italy have' been modernised into fine highways of a most distinct type. The' now roads aro motor speedways accomodating six motor-cars abroast. There aro no sharp grades and no crossings. No speed limit prevails and it is said that in the seven or eight years the roads havo been, in operation, no serious accidents havo occurred. Thoso roads havo beon so successful it is said that the French h' Goyarurnent is planning to build several "ko thorn near Par&u