AVONDALE TRAMWAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20925, 15 July 1931, Page 12

AVONDALE TRAMWAYS.

BRIDGE WIDENING COST. QUESTION OF APPORTIONMENT. The question whether the Auckland City Council or the Transport Board should bear the cost of the widening of the traffic bridge over tho railway at Mount Albert, which will carry the tram tracks for the Avondale tramway extension, was discussed- by tho board yesterday morning. A letter from the council had. contained the proposal that the board should shoulder the whole cost of making the alteration to the bridge, the council to undertake the road surface work. The city engineer had estimated the cost of widening the bridge by 32ft. at £2950 and alterations to the ramp at £220. The council wished to be advised if the suggestion was acceptable to the board. In moving that a reply bo sent stating that the proposal was not acceptable, the chairman, Mr. J. A. C. Allum, explained that the board's plans had been signed, passed and deposited for the statutory period of one month and no objections had been received. The question of the alteration of the bridge had arisen through representations which had been made subsequently, and in negotiations with the council it had been agreed that the board would contribute an amount representing its responsibility, but no more. It was no part of the board's function to widen thoroughfares. Tho improvement to the bridge was to facilitate all classes of traffic. In suggesting that a decision bo deferred, Mr. G. Grey Campbell advocated a conference between the two authorities. "If the bridge is not widened it will prove a death-trap," said Mr. E. Morton. After further discussion the chairman accepted a motion, which was agreed to, intimating to the City Council that the board was willing to make "any reasonable contribution" toward the expense of the widening.