THE WAITAANGA ROAD

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1935, Page 4

THE WAITAANGA ROAD

TONGAPORUTU TO OHURA PRESENT CONDITION OF ROUTE. COST OF COMPLETING METALLING. VALUE AS THROUGH HIGHWAY. (By News Special Commissioner.) In view of the recently published statements regarding the condition of the much discussed Tongaporutu-Ohura road, via Okau and Waitaanga, and with the object of investigating the possibilities of the road and the cost of completing the metalling of it, the route was traversed at the end of last week and a number of settlers and members of local bodies concerned were interviewed. The impression gained was that from many points of view the metalling Of this route is one of the most important reading works in Taranaki at the present time, but that unless a Concerted and unremitting effort is made to have the work put in hand aS a national undertaking there is not much hope of having any further progress made for some time.

Without going into the details of how this road, if completed, would be of benefit to the people of Taranaki, Ohura, and the North Island as a whole, the fact that it would bring New Plymouth within three hours’ motor drive of Ohura, and the beach at Tongaporutu within an hour and a-half to an hour and threequarters of Ohura speaks for itself. The opening of the new railway has done much to remove the isolation under which the Ohura district has laboured ever since it was opened up, but there is a class of traffic for which the railway cannot and never will be able to cater, and this road, in conjunction with the Tangarakau Gorge route and several other arterial roads radiating from Ohura, would provide for the traffic referred to.

Not only this; for the TongaporutuOhura road is part of what some day will be the great ease-west highway across the North Island of New Zealand. The section from Ohura to Taumarunui, via Tokirima, is already metalled, though there are many people in the district who would like to see the completion of an alternative route between the same terminal points via Matiere and the Okahukura Saddle. Going still further east, the road between Taumarunui and Tokaanu, at the southern end of Lake Taupo, has already been commenced.

On several occasions during the last year or two a resident of Uruti, using the Waitaanga Road, has made Sunday trips to Taumarunui and back, sometimes returning via the Tangarakau Gorge, Matau and the Otararda Road from Tarata to Tikorangi. This serves only to emphasise the importance of the Waitaanga Road as a link between the West Coast and the centre of the North Island. THIRTEEN MILES TO METAL. The Waitaanga Road, from its junction with the Main North Road near Tongaporutu to the township of Ohura, is approximately 34 miles in length. From the Tongaporutu end the road is metalled for about five miles. From the Ohura end the road has just been met■alled almost to the top of the Waitaanga Grade, a distance cf 16 miles. The “gap” that remains to be metalled is therefore approximately 13 miles in length, nearly three miles of which is the “Grade” itself,' a very beautiful road through dense bush very similar in conformation and gradient to the road over Mt. Messenger. The remaiiiing ten miles or so of the unmetalled “gap” is almost level, following the western banks of the Kotare and Tongaporutu Streams from the foot of the “Grade” to the present terminus of the metal near Okau. Most of the “Grade” lies in the Ohura County, but as there are no settlers actually on the “Grade,” and the Ohura County Council has just completed giving all its settlers an all-weather, metalled route to OhUta, the council naturally feels it is not justified in rating its Settlers for any further extension of metal down the “Grade.” Indeed, considering the class of country and the present prices for wool and dairy produce, the settlers are not in a position to stand any more rating for such a purpose. Nor are the settlers living between the bottom of the “Grade” and Okau, which lies in the Clifton County, able to contribute anything substantial towards the cost of metalling their Section of the route. It appears, therefore, that Unless the work is treated As a national undertaking there is little chance of it being carried out.

A NATIONAL HIGHWAY. . In view of its importance, and the fact that it is part of the future eaSt-West highway of the North Island, there seems no reason why it should not be gazetted a main highway,' and the Work carried out by the Public Works Department, with the financial assistance of the Main Highways Board add Employment Board. It is one of the Obvious places for a relief Workers’ camp, where the labour expended Would serve a very useful provincial and national purpose. The chief constructional obstacle is a large slip on the “Grade,” which should take perhaps £5OO to remove sufficiently to provide a reasonably wide road. The remainder of the ’‘Grade” has been excellently formed, with no very steep gradients, and it is a great pity that the surface has been allowed to deteriorate just for Want of a little attention. With the exception of one place on the slip the “Grade” is not dangerous, and with a little attention by surfacemen could have been kept in first-class Condition for summer traffic. Unfortunately, through the Water-tables receiving no attention, water has coursed across and down the road in many' places, gouging out ditches up to a foot in depth which render motor travel a great strain on the 'body of the car. Well-defined wheel tracks across the slip make negotiation of this part Safe in fine weather for competent drivers, except for one portion of the slip where there is not more than an inch or two to spare between the Outside wheels and the edge. For the reasons mentioned the journey is not recommended to any but experienced drivers, who do not mind if their car is subjected to fairly considerable stress. The pity of it is that the road needs such comparatively little expenditure and maintenance to make it reasonably good for dry-weather traffic. Now as to the cost of metalling the whole of the thirteen miles at present unmetalled, including the “Grade,” and the removal of the slip. At the Clifton County end metal is very scarce, and though the road is practically level, metalling is estimated to cos; up to £llOO a mile. At the Ohura end metal deposits are handy, and metalling is estimated to cost roughly £BOO a mile. A rough estimate, therefore, for putting the road in order and completely metalling it is between £12,000 and £15,000. Surely the importance of the work warrants this expenditure under some such arrangement as mentioned above. Surely, also, it warrants the sustained efforts of the Taranaki, Ohura and Matiere Chambers of Commerce, and other interested bodies, in pressing for the Carrying out .of the work.