MAINTENANCE OF ROADS

Southland Times, Issue 24106, 20 April 1940, Page 10

MAINTENANCE OF ROADS

SOUTHLAND COUNTY COUNCIL ENGINEER’S REPORT FOR MONTH The weather during the month, of March was very bad from a road maintenance point of view, and culvert troubles and washouts were very frequent, stated the report of the activities for March of the engineering department of the Southland County Council, submitted by the engineer (Mr G. K. Milward) yesterday. Most of the rivers reached high levels in the county during the month, but there has been no major damage reported, and the most serious of culvert troubles occuried m the Gorge Road district where one culvert collapsed under a 14 feet filling, which is now being rebuilt. Another five inch diameter concrete pipe culvert has scoured badly at the lower end, and is now being attended to. The following is an account of the major items of work carried out in the various ridings during the month: WAIHOPAI The inner riding truck and employees were engaged on bridge repairs on Evans road and Longbush road, renewal of two pipe culverts on the Mokotua highway, patching on Evans road, Bayview road, O’Neill’s road and Powell’s road, adding of clay blinding, Invercargill-Fortrose Highway, and patching the Rimu Factory road. The outer riding gang was engaged on repairs to culverts and bridges, Kapuka South road, minor repairs to bridge on Caesar road and Birch and Dooley road, patching gravel, GorgeMorton Mains road, Hodgson road and Lawson road. AWARUA The riding surfacing. gang has been engaged on the following work:—Repairs to culvert on Ross road; putting in a new box culvert on the Lorne-Hedge-hope Highway; a new box culvert on the Morton Mains-Kamahi road; installation of six inch pipe culvert on Flora road; culvert repairs and bridge repairs, Glencoe-Brydone road; super-elevation of curves, Winton-Gore Highway, and a small amount of general patching work. WALLACETOWN The main work carried out by . the surfacing gang was as follows:—Bridge repairs, Oporo Flat road, cartage of used timber from Oreti River, bridge to yard; general patching on Drain road, Pullar road and Tomlinson’s road, Cemetery road, and the patching of the bituminous surface on the North In-vercargill-Waikiwi Highway, application of clay blinding, Makarewa-Browns Highway, repairs to bridge, Breeze road; repairs to culvert, Breeze road, and the cartage of gravel for concrete, bridge repairs Paddon and Wilson roads, and assisting to set up gravel crushing plant at Otahuti. WINTON The riding trucks have been engaged during the month in carting from the gravel plant at Centre Bush and on general highway and county road maintenance, and, in addition, labour has been employed on the following work: —General surfacing, Springhills District roads; rebuilding small bridge on Day's road, cleaning culverts in Forest Hill district, general surfacing on WintonGhai Highway, also Kauana road and Hillend Bush road. General surfacing work was also carried out on the Lora Gorge road, repairing bridge on the Otapiri Gorge road, and the installation it of a pipe culvert on the Lora Gorge road. ORETI The surfacing gang and truck were engaged on cleaning willow growth above and below the Waimea Stream bridge, Lumsden-Balfour road, repairs to Harvey’s road, Athol, general maintenance on the Parawa-Nokomai road, cartage of used timber from the old Job’s Ford bridge to Lumsden, and general surfacing on the Mossburn-Five Rivers Highway and the Caroline Bush road. In the Balfour district the cleaning of culverts was necessary on the Longridge road and the GlenureJosephville road, and patching work was carried out on Steffan’s road, Dryridge road, and also on the GlenureJosephville road. HOKONUI The surfacing gang was engaged on general patching work, and, in addition, maintenance was delivered to Grant’s Bush road, and body gravelling was applied to Hull street. Riversdale; a temporary bridge was also erected over the North Peak stream, Waimea Valley road, because of a wash-out. WAIKAIA The surfacemen carried out the following work:—Clearing culverts, Fresh-ford-Wendonside roads, clearing fallen trees from the Whitecombe road, cleaning of watertahles, repainting of guard fences, Riversdale-Waikaia highway, and repairs to footpaths, Waikaia township. Watertable cleaning was also carried out on the Waikaia-Whitecombe road, repairs to culvert on the Wai-kaia-Waikaka road, and the cleaning of culverts and the removal of debris from bridge, Pyramid-Waiparu highway. The Waikaia riding truck was also employed carting maintenance from the crushing plant at Waikaka to the Waikaka district of the Waikaia riding. MATAURA The riding trucks have been engaged during the month in delivering maintenance gravel to the Waikaka District roads from the crushing plant at Waikaka. In addition, some surfacing work has been carried out to watertables and culverts in the district, and also, a new 18in pipe culvert was installed on Crawford road. A 6in pipe culvert was also put in on Black Hills road, and repairs were carried out to a culvert on the Gore-Mataura road. TOETOES The following routine work was carried out by the surfacing gang:— Bridge repairs, Waikawa-Papatowai highway, culvert repairs, Otara-Toka-nui road, sand patching on the Waikawa—Curio Bay road, 6in pipe culvert installed on Mitchell road, and formation work on Porter road. General patching and maintenance work was also carried out on the KenningtonWaikawa highway, and in the Wynd-ham-Glenham district. COMPLAINTS CONSIDERED A complaint by Annie Allan and M. J. Allan, Wallace street, Waikiwi, about the “disgracefill” state of the ditch in Wallace street opened up by the council was referred to the member for the riding and the engineer. “It is choked up with gorse and other weeds, blocking our house drain,” stated the letter. Mr John R. Dillon, Waipounamu R.D., Gore, wrote drawing the attention of the council to the condition of the Half-chain road, Ardlussa. The side of the road was graded into the gorse fence and the clearing of the gorse now was almost impossible, he stated. The matter was referred to the engineer. ,

TENDERS The following tenders were accepted: Waihopai riding.—lnvercargill-Fort-rose highway, construction of Coalpit Creek bridge, H. McCall, £420/11/9, subject to extra authority being obtained from the Main Highways Boqrd. Winton riding.—Mathews road, Heale Ridge (gravelling), R. R. Pullar, £BB/8/4. Hokonui riding.—Mandeville district roads (delivery from plant), W. R. Dawson, £177/4/7.