WEST COAST HIGHWAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22519, 13 March 1935, Page 13

WEST COAST HIGHWAY

WEHEKA VIA HAAST TO 'MAKARORA ESTIMATED COST OVER HALF MILLION The clerk of the Westland County Council has prepared a report on the proposal to extend the Main South road on the West Coast over the distance of 137 miles from Weheka (near the Fox Glacier) to Makarora via the Haast Pass. The report emphasises that the extension will add to the scenic attractions of South Westland by providing a drive through a length of forest-bordered highway difficult to match in any part of New Zealand and that it will open up large areas in Westland the possibilities of which have not yet been fully realised. A statement has been prepared by the district public works engineer at Greymouth (Mr T. A. Johnston), in which the total cost of the work is estimated at £582,250. The completion of the bridges and metalling of the section between Weheka. and the Oinetamatea Stream, at an estimated cost of £33,000, would, it is stated, remove a great obstruction to traffic by doing away with the Cook River ford. At present the Government is being urged to proceed with the construction of Lhe Fox River bridge. An 18ft road has been made to the site of this bridge and plans for the structure have been prepared. The district engineer has reported that southward from the Oinetamatea Stream there is a narrow formed and metalled road to the Mahitahi, 23 miles distant; on this length the Karangarua River and a number of smaller streams are unbridged. From the Mahitahi to the Moeraki, a distance of 19 miles, the formation is through easy, undulating country ; in fact, for a total distance of 50 miles from Weheka to the Moeraki River the road would run through practically flat country. Making allowance, however, for the bridging of the numerous streams and the larger rivers, and for the cost of bush-felling and clearing, the heavy rainfall, and the isolation of the work, the cost a mile is estimated at £4250. This expenditure would allow for an 18ft formation over at least half the distance and for a reduced width on the hilly and more difficult rock sections. The engineer has been over the whole route, and i s confident that a satisfactory road location to obviate natural difficulties can be obtained, and that except on a few sections the gradients would be easy. -He states that unless the road is well constructed flood damage to culverts, bridges, and surfacing would he very great, and that in arriving at the estimates consideration has been given to the restoration expenditure on existing West Coast highways because of excessive rainfall. The county clerk states that in the Bruce Bay area there is an occupied district of about 150,000 acres. The capital valuation of the district is about £50,000, and the population has increased substantially 6ince the last census. If the proposed extension were made suitable runs could be cut up, making for closer settlement and increased production. The eawmilling industry which is being established will require better access for supplies as regular shipping is not always available. Below the Bruce Bay area there is still an extent of territory with mineral possibilities which have not yet been investigated. In the far south there are about 210,000 acres of occupied lands, and as the main highway extends south it is expected that this area will appreciate in value and interest and absorb more and more population. The timber lands from the Cook River south to the extreme end of Westland County are expected in the future to supply the needs of the Dominion, and the improvement of access is urged as necessary to the development of the southern district. There is a great heritage, the county clerk states, in the undeveloped parts ot Southern Westland. The proof of that is in what has been accomplished by the settlers in less than three decades with the pushing on of the arterial road as far as it has gone into the district. In the extension of the road, in the closer settlement of the district, in the establishing of industries, in the discovery of mineral deposits, and in the creation of a scenic route which would be unexcelled, there is work in plenty of a most useful and developmental character to absorb unemployment in a new region where many could find opportunities for future employment or settlement, and create a useful expansion of the Dominion's national resources.