ECONOMICS OF ROADING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21250, 2 August 1932, Page 11

ECONOMICS OF ROADING

EXPERTS ATTACK PROBLEMS UNIFORM COSTING, SYSTEM THE BASIS OF STANDARDS Representatives of the Public Works Department, the Main Highways Board, the Transport Department, the Audit Department, the Institute of County Clerks, " County Engineers, and the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers are attending & conference which opened in Wellington last week to consider problems connected with roading costs. The principal objects of the conference are to endeavour to establish a uniform system of costing with regard to road expenditure and collect a reasonable amount of tfaffic statistics to form the basis for the proper study of roading problems, so that the maximum benefit will result from the expenditure of the funds made available. < The chairman, Mr. H. F. Toogood, said that the Society of Civil Engineers had recently considered a preliminary report, from a committee set up by it to investigate the question of economics of rural - roads, in which it was stated that under the present system of keeping costs and statistics it was difficult to ascertain the true comparative values of various types of road surfaces. The committee, however, arrived at the conclusion that, as far as it could ascertain, the traffic conditions now obtaining, and likely to obtain in the next decade, warranted nothing more than adequate maintenance of gravel roads which should be sealed or similarly treated as soon as the traffic conditions warranted. It was shown with the information available that more costly types of surfacing were not warranted except in isolated cases, and even then should not be adopted without a*very close examination of all the factors. Checks Upon Expenditure "In order to determine accurately th« proper expenditure and the types of supfaces warranted for the known traffic conditions," said Mr. Toogood, "the system of costing of maintenance and construction must be such that comparisons are made easily and such information should be kept in as uniform a manner as possible. Similarly traffic statistics should Ue""kept in a uniform and systematic manner. It is only by adopting proper systems by which comparisons can be easily made that the fullest value can be obtained from practical experience or scientific experiments. It must be quite obvious that uneconomical expenditure can be made without easy detection unless some proper method of costing is adopted, and as the money that is being spent on main highways is somewhat in the nature of trust funds, it is due to everyone concerned that the true facts regarding costs should be brought to light." Local Administration Alluding to local body administration he said the question was frequently asked if they were obtaining-full value from local government expenditure, and official inquiries were being made generally into the subject of such administration. With the lack of knowledge which now existed regarding value received for road expenditure, county administration was open to severe attack, and those interested in seeing that useful form of government attain its fullest development should bestir themselves and show that they were prepared to move with tije times. He touched upon the relation between road improvements and vehicular costs and concluding remarked: —"It has been said that our present method of carrying out road improvements is to follow naturaJ or artificially inspired impulse to get things done, and sit down afterwards and scratch our heads to discover their true economical value. Whatever may be the truth concerning the past we have had sufficient warnings that such methods, if they did exist, cannot continue, unless of course we are prepared to let things slide to a final smash."