Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 1936. ROADS AND BRIDGES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19042, 16 June 1936, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 1936. ROADS AND BRIDGES

The decision of the Government tc vest in the Main Highways Board responsibility for constructing and maintaining the most important of the arterial roads of {he Dominion estab lishes a new principle iii connection with this class of work, and in every part of the Dominion there will be some anxiety to learn what the results will bo. The idea of relieving count} ratepayers of the cost of supporting road.-; which are largely used by out side traffic may have a great deal to commend it, but it will not be possible to assess the advantages of the change until it is known whcthci State assistance in other directions i> to be withdrawn or curtailed. The contributions of local bodies to main highways is not so large as might, be supposed, and in recent; years has represented less than 20 per cent of the total. Their main item o,f expenditure is on subsidiary roads, and if State expenditure is to be diverted Cram ordinary grants to highways then the ratepayers may receive no benefit at all; they may, indeed, be penalised. Taking the figures for 1933-34, it is found that county councils contributed only about £200,000 toward.' the upkeep of main highways, whereas the Government made grants totalling more than £500,000 for expenditure on other roads. If these grants arc reduced in proportion to the additional State expenditure on highways, the counties will be no better off from a financial point of view. On. the contrary, it may be found in practice that some counties will receive benefits at the expense of others, while, unless the present riding system is abolished, as has been suggested, it is conceivable, that some ridings' will have to meet heavily increased costs

although others which are mainly concerned with main highways will obtain a wide measure of relief. The position is far from being a simple one and experience alone will tell whether the ratepayers, as a whole and as individuals, will gain or lose by the altered procedure. The administration side, also, may present some difficulties. Certainly it should make for greater efficiency and uniformity, but it is possible that the centralisation of control may prove to be. a handicap to local interests,'although this, to some extent al least, will be mitigated by the alertness of the district highways councils. Few districts are more interested in this question than Gisborne and the East Coast, which are dependent upon road traffic for the greater part of their transport, and for this reason new developments will be watched here with some anxiety. In recent years there has been a great improvement in (ho state of the main highways ami dislocations, of traffic have been comparatively few. They still do occur, however, and the possibility of future disruptions is by no means negligible'. The greatest risk at the present time is the unsatisfactory condition of a

number of bridges, in regard to which there has been a serious dilatorine.ss on the part of the responsible authorities. : Several of these structures are on the main outlets and the destruction or enforced closing down of any one. of them could result in a serious dislocation of traffic. That the danger is far from being an imaginary one has been shown by recent, experience, at lea.st three bridges being in such a state of disrepair a.s to interfere with their use. Some have long been condemned and ethers, although in better repair, have been set down for replacement, but the' necessary action has been repeatedly postponed. In other parts of the district, there arcno bridges across creeks and rivers which, in time of flood, are unfordable, and these, too, threaten the regularity of transport that is so vital to the economic life of the people. Failure to cany out these necessary works in the past has, to some extent, been due to the overlapping of responsibility and the divided control, and if the new system that is to bo adopted will provide a remedy then this district, at least, will have something to be grateful for. It cannot be stressed too strongly that a comparatively small bridge might be the key-point of a whole road and for this reason the attention of the Government and. the High ways Board should be directed to the urgent claims of this part of the Dominion. There is good ground for complaint, also, regarding the neglect of arterial roads leading to and from fiisborne. In other parts of the Dominion, where, highways frequently parallel the railway, infinitely better surfaces are provided than exist in this district, which has a strong case for more favourable treatment. Whether or not the new policy of the Government will ultimately prove to be a measure of derating or otherwise, therefore, and regardless of the possible effect on county finances, the system .should remove any difficulties in connection with having work cartied out, and, for this reason, there .should be .a good prospect of the transport facilities of the district being greatly improved.