CITY ROAD WORKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22685, 24 March 1937, Page 17

CITY ROAD WORKS

[MANY IMPROVEMENTS EXPENDING' LOAN MONEY SEVERAL DISTRICTS BENEFIT arrears BEING OVERTAKEN Street improvements which have been delayed for several years as the result of restriction on expenditure of this nature arc now beiiiir carried out in many parts of the city area. This work has been made possible by the works loan of £'.'577.000 sanctioned by the ratepayers last June. The loan, which carried a subsidy of £50,480, included drainage schemes and waterworks improvements, but the major portion was earmarked for street works, a total of £291,7-12 having been set aside, for work of this kind on 86 separate streets. Almost half of the Government subsidy was given for street, improvements, as this class of work provides employment for a large number of men, so that a total of £316,942 is available for expenditure. Gangs of men have been built up in the various districts of the city and street works are going on simultaneously in all these places. One of the largest jobs so far completed is the reformation and surfacing of Riddell Road. St. Heliers, while the reconstruction and surfacing of Blockhouse Bay Road, in the Avondale district, is well advanced. Another .major undertaking no w beiiic started 'is the permanent surfacing of some of the principal thoroughfares on tho Orakei Model Suburb, New High Level Scenic Road With its modern surfacing, Riddell Road' forms, with the concrete paving of Massey Road, a new high level scenic road, which, iu conjunction with the Waterfront Road, should soon find favour with cruising motorists. Juno tioning with the eastern end of St Heliers Bay Road, on the ridge behind the township, Massey Road is concreted for half a mile to Bay Road, and from that point the old road has been rebuilt Corners have been improved, the road lias been slightly widened, and the carriageway surfaced with bitumen. Motorists may now travel on a perfect surface bv way of Massey Road and Riddell Road alonjr the ridge overlookins the Tamaki Estuary, past the (alendowie golf links, down to the shores of the estuary and back to the starting point, a circular drive of three and a-half miles affording many fine views of the harbour and gulf, as well as glimpses of the city and the country to the south. . The work of remaking tins road was estimated to cost £BOOO. bile its primarv purpose was to open up some hundreds of acres of ideal residential land within easy reach of the city, the views obtainable from the road should prove attractive to citizens and visitors alikw Approaches to Orakei Although many of the finest homes in Auckland have been built at Orakei. the new' residents have not had the advantage of modern approach roads. This however, is now being remedied. The'circular Paratai Drive along the top of the cliff at Orakei is short y to oe reformed. AN orkmen are already setting the kerbs on both sides of the drive "and laying concrete channelling, and a start'will soon be made with bitumen surfacing. Tuhaere Street, which runs parallel with the main portion of Paratai Drive, has already been surfaced and further works on tho schedule are similar improvements to Okahu Street, giving access to Orakei from the Waterfront Road near the Maori village, and Ngaiwi Street, the main bisecting road of the settlement, running from Hobson Bay to Coates Avenue. Another overdue work soon to be put in hand is the surfacing of Kepa Road, on the southern boundary of the Orakei estate. This road is a continuation of Orakei Road from the Orakei Basin bridge and serves the back portion of the Orakei estate, finally junolioning with the Kohimarama Road. It is at present in a very bad state, but nevertheless carries a large volume of traffic. It is the most direct method of approach for residents of the ridge behind Mission Bay and Kohimarama and if well surfaced would be used largely by residents of the country to tho south-east. Other Works in Hand Other major works to be carried out in the Tamaki district are the resurfacing of. Long Drive and the main Kohimarama Road from St. Heliers Bay Road, and the reconstruction and surfacing of about one mile of St. Heliers Bay Road at its eastern end. Work being carried out on Blockhouse Bay Road will give better facilities to this developing district. Kerbing and channelling are to be done from the Avondale end to the bay, and tho whole of tho carriageway is to be brought up to modern standards. New foundations have been laid and surfacing completed on about one and a-half miles of the road from the Manukau •end, and formation work is being done ahead of the main gang. This reconstruction is estimated to cost £17,000 and the work should bo completed before next summer.