ROADING GRANTS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3929, 21 July 1937, Page 7

ROADING GRANTS

HIGHWAY BOARD’S POLICY CRITICISED. COUNTY COUNCIL DISAPPOINTED. Reporting to Monday’s meeting of the Waipa County Council the chairman, Mr S. C. Macky, said that he had attended the recent Auckland meeting of the No. 1 District Highways Council, when applications for read authorisations totalling over £l,ooo,tfoo were considered. The meeting was assured, however, that the Highways Board allocation only totalled £510,000, and as a great part of that sum had to be set aside for meeting Main Highway commitments, it was evident that the applications from local bodies would have to be whittled down very considerably. It seemed to him that the main intention of the Highways Board was to make super highways, and not trouble much about the Secondary feeder roads to the railways. As the applications had been cut down dras • tieally the Waina County Ccunc;l Could not get requirements for its scheme of sealing about 72 miles of highways in the county, on a schedule spread over four years. It seemed, according to his computation, that a total of £453,000 was to be spent bn main highway. MAKING RACING TRACKS. Mr F. C. Onion (Newcastle Riding) commented that the position as new revealed did not square with the assurance of the Minister of Public Works that local bodies would be able to carry on with their plans for sealing important roads. He dubbed the policy of the Main Highways Board as making racinp- tracks for motorists.

The chairman said he had -asked the aeting-Minister of Public Works about the position of Waipa County Council in respect to its 72-mile reading scheme, and had been given the assurance that he would take the matter up with the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance as soon after their return to New Zealand as possible; meantime the council could apply for its annual grants and subsidies as usual. LABOUR WOULD BE AVAILABLE. The engineer, Mr J. W. Civil, commented that it was unfortunate that the council’s scheme should be held up at this stage, for he had anticipated there would be keen competition among contractors for at least most of the first year’s work. This was in view cf the fact that work on the Great South Road in the County would soon be completed thus freeing a goon ■deal of labour. The chairman said he had also interviewed the Hon. W. Lee Martin (M.P. for a considerable portion of the county) re the ratepayers’ authorisation of loan proposals for reconstructing, metalling and sealing 72.28 miles of road in four years, and stressed the fact that 92 per cent, of the votes recorded were in favour of the loan proposal. The Council’s share of the total cost would be £69,600, and the State’s three times that amount. The first year provided for expending a total cf £67,252 (of which the county would have to provide one-fourth), but the bulk of that would not be payable until May 31st, 1938, and thus it would come into next financial year. The Minister of Agriculture had replied that he would confer with the aeting-Minister of Public Works, and find out how soon the Main Highways Board would be able to provide its quota. “TOURIST TRACKS!” Mr D. B. Livingstone (Newcastle Riding) said he was very disappointed at the position. It was evident that the Government could find plenty of money for “tourist tracks.” It was a very unfair action. The chairman said he proposed to take the matter up more fully while visiting Wellington shortly.