SPEED ON HIGHWAYS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19024, 26 May 1936, Page 5

SPEED ON HIGHWAYS

PROBLEM FOB BUILDERS AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCES VISIT BY N.Z. ENGINEER , • ‘’ • ; (Per Press Association.) . . WELLINCrTON, this day. A higher rate of mechanisation was absolutely essential for the further development of New Zealand s roads and hand methods would have to bo abandoned, this indicating the necessity for iarger and'more powerful local bodies, said Mr. H.-F. Toogood, a well-known Wellington civil engineer, last night, on hisi return from a .“busman’s holiday” of eight weeks in Australia Mr. 'Toogood travelled 25CG. miles by train and-5000 miles by car through the eastern States and met 24 engineer engaged on reading work. Because of this, he said, he felt justified in comparing Australian with New Zealand roads. Apart from the main highways and secondary roads, he said he thought the Australian reading was inferior to that in New Zealand. In New Zealand there seemed to be a keener sense of the responsibilities of local government. He had been astounded with the progress .made, .with reading in the last 14 year's Engineers were using what would be regarded in Now Zealand as unpromising material, bqt they were making roads which, for the type of traffic they carried, were equal to anything in the world- In New South Wales and Victoria, the methods were at least five years ahehd of those followed in New Zealand. The mechanisation of processes was responsible. In common with the New Zealand authorities, however, the Australian engineers were meeting great difficulties presented by the excessive speeds, ol motorists on gravelled roads. The destruction of these roads was faster than they; could overtake. Many Australian roads had been laid down on a supposedly permanent basis, but such reads as tile Pacific highway were now incapable )of carrying traffic at the speed at which it was travelling; These roads had been laid on concrete and now the engineers were wishing they could redesign,. them. At the time they were laid, the speed value round the curves was 35 miles- an hour. Now, motorists wanted to do 50 miles an hour.