READY FOR PAVING

Taranaki Daily News, 19 December 1933, Page 6

READY FOR PAVING

THE GREAT NORTH ROAD. BRIDGES AND DEVIATIONS. > ———-—— Although lack of funds has prevented the Main Highways Board from assisting the county councils concerned toward reconstructing and surfacing the unpaved portions of the Great North Road between Hamilton and Auckland, much preparatory work has been done and this will enable operations to be expedited when money is evailable. The principal new work carried out during the past year has been the levelling of the surface of the highway south of Papakura. This was done by the Franklin County Council with relief workers, but as the council could not meet the whole of the overhead charges the Main Highways Board subsidised this expenditure £3 to £l, the overhead expenses absorbing approximately £2OOO. The county has employed up to 60 men and eight lorries on this section and in the remodelling process the road has been formed in accordance with the levels and alignments prepared for the permanent surface which will follow. From Papakura to Ramarama the formation has a width of 28 feet and for the remainder of the distance to Bombay the width is 26 feet In addition several minor deviations have been made and comers improved, while Wright’s Deviation, now being used by traffic, is part of the preparatory work. The Public Works Department on behalf of the Main Highways Board, has let a contract for the earthwork of a new deviation, a fifth of a mile long, which will eliminate a difficult bend north of Drury. One other deviation designed to eliminate the remaining sharp rise on the highway to the north of the Bombay deviation will be carried out before the paving gangs reach that point. This road will -greatly improve the approach to Bombay. The major work now in hand is the construction of the deviation from Drury township to the railways bridge at Runciman. In addition to formation, a substantial bridge and a large culvert will be required. The contractors are now at work on the concrete culvert, which will have a length of 76 feet The bridge which crosses the stream at the back of the Drury railway station will be in reinforced concrete. It will have a total length of 100 feet, made up of two 30-foot and one 40-foot spans, with a 24-foot carriageway and a 4-foot walk fop pedestrians. The concrete piles for the structure have been made and the contractors are now waiting for them to cure before the