FINE WORKS SEASON

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19892, 21 March 1939, Page 4

FINE WORKS SEASON

EXPENDITURE OP GRANTS GOOD PROGRESS MADE FOUR MAJOR CONTRACTS The prevailing dry weather may have its drawbacks, for farmers and townsmen whose supplies of water are strictly limited, 'but for those interested in pubbie works l contracts, it would 1 be difficult to imagine more suitable and congenial conditions. Throughout Poverty Bay, Wairoa and the East Coast the season has been an exceptional one for county engineers and others associated with public works, including the staff of the Highways Board. Maintenance on roads undamaged during the floods of last winter h«s been low, and the absence of new difficulties' has facilitated the clearance of the winter's wreckage on those roads which are subject to flooding- or slipping in wet weather. While iconcern is expressed by some settlers regarding the likelihood of widespread minor troubles when the rains come on again, following on the drought period, those who will have to lace, these troubles and .effect repairs iare not'.spending much time in 'contemplation, of difficulties to come. They are making hay while the sun shines. Public works financed mainly by State funds are proceeding in many parts of the joint district, and the scheduled work is weE up to timetable. Flood-protection jobs have been favoured 'by the low conditions of most of the streams, and quarrying, shingle and sand dredging, bridge works, and bitumen-surfacing jobs have suffered few checks throughout the season Major Contracts The four major contracts under the Public Works Department in Gisborne are those for the delivery of shingle and sand for tunnelling requirements on the railway, this work involving an outlay of about £60,000; the reconstruction and sealing of between five and six miles of the East Coast main highway between Gisborne and Tolaga Bay, ''.he contract price being about £32.000; the construction of a new bridge at Kaitaratahi, to replace the old wooden structure carrying highways traffic, at a cost of about £16,000; and the erection of ipremises in Customhouse street, Gisborne, for the new automatic exchange. Deliveries under the sand' and shingle contract, let to Mr. F. Foley, have been kept going despite minor troubles in regard to the collection of material. On the East Coast highway the reconstruction and bitumen sealing is approaching completion, and should be finished before the end of the season.

The Kaitaratahi bridge job and the new automatic exchange building are both in the hands of the Williamson Construction Company, and are showing satisfactory progress, though both were subject to initial difficulties, in rega'rd to supplies of steel and other essential materials.