BITUMEN ROADS

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 12001, 2 December 1924, Page 8

BITUMEN ROADS

PURCHASE 0F PLANT CITY AND SUBURBAN HIGHWAYS BOARD MEETS. TOWARDS A BEGINNING. A meeting of the City and Suburban. Highways Board of Control was held yesterday, Mr R. A. Wright presiding, amd Councillors T. Forsyth, H. D. Bennett, W. H. Bennett, O. H. Chapman and W. J. Gaudin, Messrs W. T. Strand, J. W. McEwan, McKay, and McCurdy. ' . m Messrs Wright, H. D. Bennett, X. Forsyth, and Strand had been constituted a sub-committee to report to the board on transport. They reported as follows, their report being adopted: No. 1 CUMMER PLANT. “This 1 Jant is to be purchased out of Hutt road loan money. It is proposed to operate this plant from a- site near the mouth of the Hutt river at Petone. Authority for the use of this site has been asked from the Hutt River Board. Fine sand supply hao •been located! in this vicinity, and it is anticipated that a large percentage of coarse aggregate, both sand and metal, will be available from tho Hutt river. This material will be of such a rounded nature that it will -bei necessary to obtain crushed approved quality metal from, metal quarries for the top. course. It is proposed to transport the fine sand, coarse sand and soreeued gravel from their respective dumps to tho mixing plant, by means’ of- an. industrial railway. The equipment necessary for dealing with this material will be screening and elevating plants, also ten tons of 141 b rails, sleepers, etc. The necessary trucks can be hired from the general city plant. It i, recommended that the supplies of crushed stone shall be hauled to this plant under contract for supply and delivery, or for delivery only. No. 2 CU-MMESR PLANT. “This plant is at present the property of the Wellington City Council, purchased out of revenue, 1920 loan moneys, and as a considerable amount of /oity loan paving, tramway paving, and general paving out of revenue has to be carried out, it is advisable that this ownership continue and that vour -board pay a royalty rate for all mixed material supplied from this plant. Fine and coarse sand pits are now being stripped in. the immediate vicinity of the plant, and this material will he handled" by an industrial railway and trucks. These trucks and rails are at present in use, and owned by the Wellington City Corporation. The sand deposits referred to are situated on the city roseiye, and the area from which the sand is removed will require to he covered with clay and soil to approved levels as the removal proceeds. This operation should he a charge on the product. It is estimated that this will not exceed 6d per cubic yard of sand taken- for the mixing plant, which- is a reasonable royalty. COARSE AGGREGATE. “The coarse aggregate will be supplied from Townsend quarry—now ! being equipped with crusher, disc, and screening plant. This quarry is situ- ‘ ated within half a mile of the paving plant, and it is proposed to haul the metal to the,plant-under contract. In addition to the materials required in the aggregate for both .machines a high quality of quarry crushed chips is required for the seal coat. The, Ngahauranga quarry stoue ie of this high quality and the plant specially, adapted for its manufacture. In order j to obtain a continuous supply of this material, it is necessary that the other products manufactured at this plant he U6ed and as they are most suitable for | the coarse aggregate such portion of them as is available after the ordinary city road maintenance requirements have been catered for will be transported to the paving plants under contract rates of cartage. “It is riot proposed during the present season to arrange for the larger reject material from the river supplies, as it is probable tbat this material will be required for widening and formation operations ahead of the pav . ing in the Hutt Valley and foreshore • road. It may be found necessary next season to instal a disc crusher at this plant when a better estimate can be formed as to Hie quality of this material. | BITUMEN. . 1 Eight hundred tons of bitumen will bo delivered to the site of thd*No. I j plant within the next fortnight, and I contracts have -been let for 366 tons for I the No. 2 plant, and this will be available when required. It will be neces- j snry to call tenders for a further sup- , ply’ of at least 500 tans for delivery at the end of February. ! “At present supplies of Filler Dust come from Dunedin, but negotiations are being carried on with a view to obtaining a more' regular and economical supply of this material. | PREPARATION WORK. | “Before the paving mixture from j these plants can be laid it is neoessary j to prepare the surface of the roads to conform to fixed levels regulated by ! kerbs, and in some oases to widen the formaton with haunches sufficiently 1 strong to givelateral support to the pavement. Steam rollers are necessary for scarifying the high spots and con- | solidating the fillings. It has been ! found fro inexperience that at least ; two vollore are essential for each pav- j ing plant, so that the work may proceed sufficiently ahead of the paving 1 crew, and it is necessary that the ordin- | ary street maintenance, both in the city and it 3 suburban areas, must not be neglected. “Two rollers are required for this city maintenance work, and it ie assumed that one roller at least will he required to maintain the Hutt Valley roads. The total requirements, therefore. are three rollers for maintenance, two for city paving, two for the Hutt Valley paving—making a total of seven. CARTAGE OF MATERIAL. “The city possesses three rollers, tho Hutt and Petone Boroughs one each, or a total of five. It.will be Been, therefore, that it is necessary to purchase two heavy scarifying rollers of from 12 to 15 tons weight. “The cartage of the material frpm the preparation work can be taken care of by hired vehicles in such numbers as may be necessary in accordance with I daily requirements. Mechanical graders have been found most efficient for pre-l paration work, also for the latest methods of maintaining existing macadam surfaces, As the pi-esent plant will be fully occupied on maintenance it will be necessary to purchase a grader for each preparation crew. Fordson tractors are found to be most efficient for working with the graders, and it is proposed to transfer a city tractor for work in the Hutt Valley, i TRANSPORT. “It is not advisable to transport out-' wards the hot mix from the paving plants to the paving crews, other than by Tchiclaa ownad by ‘tho_baard, . A to-

tal of at least nine 3-ton truckß, properly equipped with tip bodies suitable for the work are required for the two plants. Tho city owns only three of these vehicles, therefore it is necessary for the board to purchase six vehicles with the requisite spares, at a total estimated cost of £7OOO. “It will be seen from the foregoing that a considerable quantity of the plant will be used from plant already owned by the various local bodies. Therefore, a recognised schedule of hire charges for this plant should be agreed upon in order to facilitate costing charges against the board’s operation. SUPERVISION. It is intended, as far as possible, to employ men who live in the immediate vicinity of each plant, but certain experts who have their permanent .residences in Wellington will require transportation to and from the Hutt Valley when train services do not suit. In addition to this, Mr F. A. Duncan will require transport during working hours from the paving operations to the plants and to inspect various paving work objectives. It is recommended that a five-seater car of a standard model be purchased. SUMMARY. The following is a summaiy of the plant specified above and decided to be purchased, together with the estimated cost:— £ Preparation work: Twi> 15-ton scarifying rollers at £ISOO each 3000 Two graders ait £llO each 220 Transport; Six motor trucks ' with, spare parts 7000 One car 250 Paving plant No. 1— Depot: Bins, screening plant and industrial railway ... £11.370 ADMINISTRATION. The following resolutions also were carried: “That an offitcr be appointed as record clerk the board, -but to work under the supervision, of t’h© town clerk of the Wellington Qity Council.” “That separate accounts be kept of the expenditure under the hoard’s control by such departments and in such form as tho Internal Auditor shall decide.” “That the , city solicitor and city engineer be authorised by the council to act as advisers to the ..board.” “That it is recommended that the work be carried out by the city engineer’s department.” / “That authority he obtained from 1 the Hutt River Board for the use of a sit© near the mouth of the Hutt river at Petone. "Che city solicitor to be. asked to draw up tho necessary agreement. “That the board affirm the policy of calling for tenders for all services, material, and plant required in connection with the works under its control.” ‘"niat the board records as far as possible- -be kept separately from those of the Oity Council.”