ROAD TO TITIRANGI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20618, 17 July 1930, Page 8

ROAD TO TITIRANGI.

EARTHWORKS COMPLETED.

CONCRETING IN SUMMER.

HIGHWAYS SUBSIDY AWAITED.

"With the completion of the earthworks, a halt has been called in the work on the Titirangi Road- This is in accordance with plan, it being desirable that the oewly-bnilt embankments should be coneolidated before the concrete surface is laid down.

In the meantime, the Waitemata County Council has asked the Main Highways Board to make available a further contribution of the £19,500 subsidy which has been promised. When thi3 money is received, and it is not expected until some time during the summer, concreting operations will begin/ Until then, the County Council will do its best to keep the road open for traffic. Approximately £IOOO has been spent on metalling the new clay Burface, and tho only section left to be done is the deviation which was conBtructed near the New Lynn end. The metal already put down will be used as the base for the concrete slab to be laid over it later.

The work of the contractors, H. Bray and Company, has been completed, as has also the construction by Wilcox and Company of the retaining wall at the top of the hill. The wall alone cost £9OO, and the earthworks about £2OOO. Several slips have occurred at places where deep cuttings had to be made, but it is the intention of the County Council to leave the debris where it is, as long 33 it does not interfere with traffic, until, the summer months, as it is feared that the removal of the spoil will cause further landslides.

While it depends on tho Main Highways Board when the concreting starts, the council hopes to have this work put in hand daring the summer. The grant is £3 to £l, so that the Highways Board will be contributing three-quarters of the total cost of tho work, estimated at £21,000.

When the road is completed the driv# to Titirangi will be one of the most pleasant in the Auckland district. Many improvements have recently been effected by the Waitemata County Council, including the metalling of School Road and Otitori Bay Road, with the exception of about a-quarter of a mile of each road, Which will probably be completed in the summer. There, now exists metalled access to the beach at the Laingholm Estate and the road to the Huia has been metalled to within half a mile of the Huia post office. It is hoped to have this road completed during the summer. The reopening of Exhibition Drive, which comes within the province of the City Council, will undoubtedly be pressed for as soon as Titirangi is linked up by concrete with the city. Motorists and yisitors to the city will then have a unique scenic drive within half an hour of the post office.