HIGHWAYS COUNCIL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16348, 4 February 1924, Page 2

HIGHWAYS COUNCIL.

! REPRESENTATIVES MEET. REVIEW OP PROCEDURE. The Local Highways Council, consisting of «i representative from each of the Counties of Cook, Gaw.t, Waikohu, Matakaoa, anil Waiapu, met this morning. Mr, A. E. J nil, president- of the N.Z. Counties' Association, and a member of the main Highways Board, was present at the'invitation of the Council. The members of the Council present were: Messrs Boland (Uawa County), A. B. Williams (Waiapu). 0. Reynolds (Cook). Doyle (Waikohu), and the District Engineer-, Mr. C. E. Armstrong. Mr. C. K. Armstrong, who presided said that as the result of a eommunica-. taou j.'om the Department stating that the representatives of the Highways Board were willing to visit them and give them a clearer idea of the procedure, he had then wired Mr. Jull asking hiin to come- and have a chat with them. He was sure that Mr. .lull would be able to enlighten them on tho methods ou which they would work. Mr. A. E. dull said that he had already met the Hawke's Bay Council, and he was going to visit them again ihis week, lie would also be visiting Stratford. The Councils would be asked to forward recommendations regarding what roads they wanted gazetted as main highways. They might be able to give some idea as to the precedence of the work in their district. This district had a considerable amount of work under construction by the Public Works Department, arid they would have to make recommendations regarding whether the Government was to continue. that work or whether it should be taken over by the Main Highways Board. Before the. Highways Board could make a grant of more than one-half of the expenditure, it'hiul to be gazetted as a Government road. The next thing they had to do was to make up their minds what work thev could manage from April 1, IBM, | to March 31, 1925. They should also get ready to submit the proposals to the j ratepayers, and if they felt thsy could , get some additional contribution fl'om I the Public Works Department, so nv.ieh the better. If they could say to the ratepayers "one-half of the cost of construction will be found by the Highways Board, a further portion will be given by tlio Public Works Department, and we are asking you to find the balance," thev would be'in a very strong position. Thev had shown that they desired some substantial work to be done in their districts. In other districts the people world be taking advantage of tho offer, and as tire money was limited they should get in early. They should gel in for the" money to the main Highways Boai'd, and thev should then ask the Minister of Public Works to help them. There was no reason why the work, should, proceed only from the Gisborne end, and as each county had to make a contribution to the Highways Board, there was no reason why the worn should not proceed automatically in each of lite counties. Supposing, for the sake of argument, that there was 30 miles of road traversing three counties, they could make some provision, for-continuity of the work. Section .11 of the Act dealt with' the functions of the district council with regard to the recommendations thev were to make. There was a good deal of misapprehension on the part of county councils as to the powers and functions of the Highways Council. They were asking them to make the best use of the provisionsght the Act. He had great hope that fcM*Torre of the opinion of the peopie in each district would be sufficient to demand that a progressive policy be conducted. The Main Highways Act had'Miot .in any way repealed the provisions of the Public Works Act. If they were not, satisfied regarding the 'allocation of the proportion of the cost of the work>thoy could still ask that a Commission be set up to determine the* respective portions of the cost. This Act handed over to the Main Hifhwavs Board a sum of not less than £2OO,CCO a year and £35,000 for maintenance, and \t*is to tajce the place of the grant- previously given,

Mr. Reynolds :■ Are the works earnied out by the separate counties! Mr! dull: When a read is constituted a main highway it automatically eame under the -Main Highways Board but the Highways Board could'delegate the control to the respective county councils. He thought it was desirable to cxliaust the possibilities of the counties dfflng the work. The Board would try to delegate the control of the load to the county councils through which the*-road - passed. , The Board had decided to fix a standard of construction suitable to the particular road they were undertaking. A specification would be prepared in each case and the Highways' Beard would' recommend that the work be car-

ried out to a standard suitable) to the particular piece of road. The Act now framed said that the Highways Board , would contribute half the cost of coni strutting and enc-third the cost of maintaining the main roads. One of the . things they had to consider was tho making of recommendations for the taking over the roads now being constructed or s re-constructed by the Public Works i Department. If those roads were taken over the old arrangement of half and half would come into force again. Where the Government were now acting they should in their recommendation leave provision so that the portions under construction would be left for the Govern- ; ment to finish. Owing to Poverty Bay's ! isolation he thought that the Public, Works Department should make special ' provision for them otit of revenue instead of leaving it to come out of the .Main Highways fund. He would suggest""thflt they should go into the question as to what were reasonable areas of the road to take over. The Government wore proposing to give the Highways Beard £200,C00 for construction and reconstruction, and £35,000 for maintenance. The amount thev were spending in Gisborne and in oTher districts?] was included in this £200,000. , Thev would have 1o ask the Council in Gisborne to j contribute £1 for £l. As far as the j specifications were coiieerned, 'lie Oonn- ! cil would in each ease bo asked what they considered was a suitab l ©\ciass of ! I Highways Board to take over work upon , which ihc. Pntolio Works had been engaged, Oiio. of I lie most important matters on which the Highways Council should make a reeemmendation to the Board, was in reference lo Ihe woiyht and speed of the traffic on the various roads. Tt would be perfectly obvious to them nil, that if a read was constructed to 'arry five tons, it could carry that load indefinitely, but if a- load in excess of five tons were carried, the road would break up. The capital cost would then bo enormously high. Mr. A.' B. Williams said that oiie of the soro points felt throughout the district was that th« motorists used chains on the metalled roads during had weather. Mr. .'full replied that the Council could make a by-law to prevent this. With regard to the apportioning of the .cost' whcci a. road was passing through a number of counties, Mr. dull quoted Victoria, -where the hoard arbitrarily decided what the various lor nl bodies must pay towards the cost of the .Toad. The roads there were not eonstructed for heavy traffic in fact, you would see more motor lorries on the Hawke's Bay reads, than you wonki sec in the whole of Victoria. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr. dull for the trouble he V«d taken in visiting them and in elucidating the different points which they had not quite understood. ■■mill ■—— ■iianw