ANOTHER LINK

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19140, 8 October 1936, Page 14

ANOTHER LINK

; SOUTHERN MAIN ROAD COASTAL PROJECT ' SAFE HIGHWAYS '•"•The Government recognises the hecossity for providing adequate reading facilities in the interests of economical road transport, and the prosecution of the Plimmertou-Pukerua BayPaekakariki deviation to link up with the highway, which is being officially opened, is evidence that it does express its polity in a. practical manner," said the Horn It. Semple, Minister of Transport, at the opening ceremony of the Paremata bridge on Saturday. .When the further section of the road was' completed,, said Mr. Semple, Wellington and the surrounding districts and the northern parts of the island would be connected by a modern lowlevel highway, which would save time anj disLanee, and also reduce the operating expenses of road transport of all kinds. - The elimination of the 500ft.' climb and the saving of four miles over the Paekakariki Hill would prove of immense benefit to all who had occasion to travel between Paekakariki and Wellington.

"WON'T STOP HALF-WAY"

Vv uiie uie pioseiH Government, he said, did not take credit lor the work, i„e owdge was in line with the policy the Government was Hollowing at tne present time. The Government was ue'iermined to improve the highways or the country, it was determined to make the arterial roads of New Zealand 100 per cent safe for the motoring public, and in order to do that ii would be necessary to eliminate all the zigzags and the nill climbs similar to Paekakariki. He had made the decision since ho had been Minister to complete the road through the Paekakariki around the coast. Three or four hundred men would be employed on the job in a few months, and this work would bo completed in the least possible tithe. ...:..

Tta';Pa"remftta bridge cost £12,000, he said., and the total cost of the bridge and the deviation was £20,680. The estimated cost of the road from Plimmerton to Paekakariki was £2U0;'0OO which would mean a total ..expenditure of £226,686. Mr. Semple said they were going to construct the coast road and they were getting the camps ready for it now. Mr. Semple reiterated that the Gov- j eminent intended to pursue its policy I of,. making national highways safe. "We nave been killing nearly 300 people a year," he said. "The last 13 years the casualties on New Zealand highways exceeded the casualties suffered by the New Zealand .Forces in the war; As the result of new legislation controlling speed, etc., during the last six weeks only one person has been killed on the roads, wliile during the .preceding fix weeks 53 pCrsom were killed. Therefore the Government has reduced the number ox fatalities on the roads by over 90 per cent.". The first step to make the road safe for motorists and the public was to take down the hills, improve the visibility, and make the roads wider. This was vital so far as Wellington and the surrounding districts were concerned.