DAMAGE TO ROAD WORK

Taranaki Daily News, 6 March 1934, Page 12

DAMAGE TO ROAD WORK

CARRINGTON METALLING GROUP. COMPLAINTS ABOUT SETTLERS. Criticism was made at last months meeting of the Taranaki County Council regarding the narrowness of the fillings on some of the road construction work being done in the Carrington Boad district by the Public Works Department by the use of unemployed relief labour. Reference to the same work was made at yesterday’s meeting of the council -when a letter was received from Mr. P Keller, district engineer, again drawing attention to the fact that complaints were still coming to hand from the overseer and foreman engaged on the metalling of Dover, Carrington and Pitone roads concerning the damage being done by the settlers to the formation and metal on those roads. Mr. Keller wrote that the formation was put through on a basis of 14 feet width for cuts and 16 feet width for banks, but the bank widths in many places had been seriously lessened by stock wandering across them, and by the use of bullocks hauling posts and firewood along the shoulders. - A further complaint was that certain settlers continued to dump timber on the edge of the cuttings, breaking down the battens and thus blocking the water-tables, or else directly obstructing those channels with timber indiscriminately dumped into them. While it was the, department’s intention to construct by-roads in the Carrington area, in spite of the unusually difficult climatic conditions of the locality, he added, direct opposition of the settlers to their own interests so augmented those difficulties as to make it impossible for the department to continue to accept responsibility for damage of the nature complained of. He had noticed the council’s remarks as published from its last meeting. It would appear that councillors were not aware of the position, though the inspector had been appealed to by the department’s overseer in an attempt to right ■ matters. The chairman said that if the nuisance had been going on it cut the ground from under the council’s feet. Cr. Carey said he understood the council’s inspector had taken steps to stop the nuisance. The chairman said that the nuisance must be stopped.