THE TARANAKI COUNTY

Taranaki Daily News, 6 August 1929, Page 13

THE TARANAKI COUNTY

MONTHLY COUNCIL MEETING ROAD AND BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION SPECIAL' RATES TO RAISE LOANS. Road maintenance and bridge construction were discussed by the Taranaki County Council at its monthly meeting yesterday. Mr. J. S. Connett presided. For the purpose of raising loans a special rate is to be levied of 1 11-lGd on the Weld Road, Jd on the Brown Road, 3d on the Richmond Road. It was decided to advise that State Advances Department that the council would not negotiate with it with regard to the proposed loans. The easier terms of the Public Trust made the council inclined to deal with that office. The overseer, Mr. G. Meredith, reported that during the month one crusher had been worked ten days at the Stony River depot crushing 704 cubic yards of metal and screenings, which had been delivered. The other crusher had been worked at the Saunders Road depot crushing 486 cubic yards of metal, which had been spread on the Oxford-Saunders highway. Metal carted from Goodwin’s pit, Puniho, had been used for the maintenance of Puniho Road, and metal carted from the railway pit, Sentry Hill, had been dumped on the various roads around Lepperton for their maintenance. Also metal carted from the Stony River dump had been used for patching on the Komene, Hoani, Kaihihi, Hampton and Oxford Roads. In all 200 yards of material from the Fitzroy quarries had been distributed over the Lower Mangorei Road, Dorset Road, Main Road Omata, Factory Road, Omata, Frankley Road, Cowling Road, Pheany Road, Veale Road, the Korito Road culvert, and at the pipe depot. During the month the total amount of metal and screenings carted was 1762 yards. PROGRESS OF REPAIR WORK. ■ The carpenter had completed the repairs to the Beach Road bridges at Oakuca and had practically completed the additions to the Korito Road ‘culvert. The foreman in the Mangorei riding had been engaged with the usual repair work. Water-tables and metal patching had been done on the Carrington, Mangorei, Hurworth, Alfred, Kent, Albert and Korito Roads. On the main highway the asphalt had been patched and banked in places. In the Waitara riding the motor roller had been engaged in scarifying and rolling on the Paraite and Henwood Roads. The grader had been used to ehear off the grass edges from the metal on the Egmont, Mutton track, Smart, Colson's, Dorset and Queen Roads. With regard to the Omata riding it was stated that Foreman Seamark had been engaged in attending to watertables, banking and patching metal. Foreman Sadler’s time had been taken up in repairing and filling at the washout on the Frankley Road and in patching metal on the Frankley, Veale, Elliott and Cowling Roads. Asphalt patching had been done on the main highway._ About 60 chains of the Upper Frankley Road was breaking ami would require re-coating next season. On the Greenwood Road, in the Okato riding, the Pin. pipe culvert in the dip above Mr. Kjiight’s gate was unable to cope with the storm water. On several occasions tahe water had overflowed the Toad. To save any further scour the engineer recommended that a loin, culvert be put in. A portion of a culvert and filling had been scoured out on the Kaitaki Road, six- 24in. pipes had been put in, and the filling reinstated.

On Saunders Road metalling was being carried out, and very good progress was being made considering the unfavourable weather. About 35 chains of re-metalling had been done on the Upper Pitone Road. Metal patching had been done and water-tables had received attention on most of the roads. The metal on the lower end of the Hampton Road was very weak for a distance of approximately 40 chains. This portion had been patched but would require recoating in the near future. During the month the engineer had been engaged in general inspection duties and had inspected all signs at railway crossings. He found St. Andrew . Cross signs were required at the Waiiara Road, Te Arei Road, and Niaia Road crossings, where none had oeen erected. One was required on the Mew Plymouth side of the Queen’s Road crossing, Fitzroy. Practically all the others required re-painting, shifting and lowering. It would be a good plan to obtain the number of new ones required, and they could be erected while the old ones were being re-painted. He had found that, as usual at this time of the year, a fair amount of stock was at large on the roads and he had impounded stock in the Fitzroy and Lepperton pounds; driving fees to the amount of 11b had been charged. No ■unlighted vehicles had been found on the roads at night. Heavy traffic had not given much trouble through operating by-roads. SURVEY ON DEVON ROAD. The construction engineers reported the levels had been taken over a portion of the Devon Road, from the curve at Mangaone stream eastwards, and the plans were being prepared for the contractors. Messrs. Julian and Son reported that they had finished their contract for the erection of the Katikara bridge, and now had the work in connection with the Stony River bridge well in hand. At the Kahihi bridge they were engaged in erecting a temporary structure to carry the traffic while the bridge was under construction. It was necessary at the deviation near Okato to remove about ten telegraph poles, but the department would sanction this only if the council consented to defray the cost of the change. The county solicitors advised that the department was within its rights. As the contract was being held up it was resolved to approach the department for an estimate of the cost. The New Plymouth Aero Club’s re3 nest for a donation for the purpose of efraying the cost of construction work done at the entrance of the aerodrome at Bell Block was deferred until the Uext meeting. CLOSING OF SMITH ROAD. |' The Lepperton Co-operative Dairy Company advised that it had been decided at the annual meeting of shareholders of the company that they would Uot object to the council closing Smith

Street, Lepperton township, subject to the conditions as outlined by Mr. W. D. Cartwright at the. meeting held recently. Mr. P. n. Wellington drew the council’s attention .to the bad state of the entrance t-o his property on Manutahi Road, Lepperton, as the flood waters had washed out all the metal on the side of the road. —It was agreed to comply with his request. The proceeds from the sale of a portion of the closed Mininia Road amounted to £lBO. It was resolved to spend this on metalling part of the Te Arei Road. Joe Tikiwae and Maungakonga, in waiting on the council, stated that, owing to the rough nature of the Mineraha Road, it was impossible at' this time of the year to take out their milk. It was agreed to refer the matter to Cr. Carey. The chairman of the council, Mr. J. S. Connett, was delegated to deal with the petition of William Nichol, Mountain Road, Lepperton, who stated that owing to the disrepair of the road leadincr past his cowshed he found it difficult to drive a heavy load of milk to the factory. EFFECTS OF WET WEATHER. C. W. Maxwell asked the council to place a drain in front of his property at the corner of the Oxford Road, Okato. At present a small stream was running through his farm from a culvert on the road. Cr. Wood was deputed to send in a report on the case. C. S. Pike, of the upper end of Cowling Road, stated that the road adjacent to°his place wag cutting up badly with the wet weather and he desired the council to supply a few loads of metal. —The chairman agreed to investigate the matter, but said that at the same time there did not seem to be much prospect of anything being done at present. A request by the Westown Progressive Association for a light at the intersection of Elliott and Frankley Roads was deferred. At present the council could not instal the light. The application of the council to the District Highway Board for a subsidy of £3 for £1 towards the cost of regrading Betts’ hill was refused. On behalf oi the board Mr. P. Keller stated that for the next five years the board’s programme of reconstruction adjacent to the larger centres would absorb the whole of the available funds. The county overseer drew the attention of the council to the erosion that wae taking place on the branch road between Greenwood and Pitone Roads at the foot of the hill below Mr. Penwarden’s residence. For a distance of about ten chains heavy seas had swept into the base of the road, and although •at present there was no danger of the flat portion of the road scouring out, at the foot of the hill where the road was only 20 feet wide, he thought a heavy stone should be hauled up from the beach and placed at the foot of the road to prevent further destruction. It was agreed that in accordance with the overseer’s report, piping should be laid in the culvert close to Mr. Knight s property on Greenwood Road. . . The pit on the Carrington Road near the Stony River is to be closed and a gate is to be erected. At the conference being held to-day between those local bodies contributing to the Taranaki Hospital Board, to review the whole question of the levies, it was agreed that the council should be represented by the chairman (Mr. Connett) and Cr. W. Thomas.