ROAD IMPROVEMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20473, 30 July 1928, Page 7

ROAD IMPROVEMENT.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, —In your issue of the 27th inst. Mr A. E. Ansell, president of the Otago ; Motor Club, while commenting favourably j on the road improvement operations car- ' ried on in the Bruce County, is reported as having given it as his opinion that ' the gravel was put on too heavily, making it difficult to handle a car whilst it was being driven through, and he thought that it would be more satisfactory if the gravel were spread evenly over the road instead of being piled on the crown, as at present. I fail to see why Mr Ansell should come to that conclusion. I was always of the opinion that most of our country roads have the water table in the centre of the road, instead of at the sides. The greatest difficulty is nowbeing experienced in getting the water tables deep enough to drain the road. Many pounds are being spent at the present time on the. main highway between Stoney Creek and Balclutha in making that provision. No matter what amount of gravel is placed on the centre of the road, it does not long remain there, and very soon the greater portion will have found its way in or towards the water tables, necessitating the constant use of the grader to place it back again into its former position. I thipk it will be found that roads with a high crown give better drainage, and are therefore not so susceptible to potholes. Those who superintend the construction of our roads at the present time seem to advocate flat or crownless roads, samples of which can be seen on the finished road from Balclutha to Tuapeka Mouth, and also on the Dunedin-Port Chalmers road. One shower of rain, and the road is covered with water, which remains there. Undoubtedly, if there is a superabundance of money available, roads of this description give more employment, as they require constant maintenance, but the essential factor in the construction of roads should be to construct them in t.he best way so as to defer future expense as long as possible. This can only be attained by raising the crown of a road considerably, even although for a time it may not be convenient for cars travelling at the rate of 35 to 45 miles per hour. When funds are not available, such as is the case in respect of many of our secondary roads, small contracts have to be let from time to time, and it takes years to complete a mile or two. It s pleasing to note that on many of these roads the gravel is well crowned up on the road, and on that account will stand the traffic for years without further maintenance or expense. Nine inches deep ol gravel placed on the crown of the road will soon either I'ind the water tables or double its width with constant and heavy traffic. As to the gravel being too heavily put on so as to make it difficult to handle a car, the remedy for that is only the matter of a shower or two of rain and a few days' traffic—l am, etc., J. C. Smith. Lovell's Flat, July 28.