COUNTY ROADING

Taranaki Daily News, 25 March 1935, Page 8

COUNTY ROADING

GRADES ON CROYDON ROAD. COUNCILLORS INSPECT HILLS. Improvements in the grading and surface of Croydon Road, Waipuku, were sought by a deputation of settlers which met representatives of the Stratford County Council at Croydon Road on' Saturday. The council members were Messrs. T. R. Anderson (chairman), S. Pitt and W. Vickers (north riding), and Mr. J. W. Spence, county engineer, was also present. The farmers present were Messrs. J. W. Morrison (spokesman), W. Crosby, W. E. Vestey, W. Hooker, F. Botton, G. Goble, C. Prince, H. Alexander and J. Blair. The meeting arose from the invitation of Messrs. Morrison and Capper, who waited on the council last week, to the councillors to visit the road to see for themselves the condition it was in and the attention it required. The road was in a disgraceful condition, it was stated, the grades.being exceptionally steep, and the metal being so rough that many horses using the road were lamed. It would be very difficult to improve the road by merely metalling it, said Mr. Anderson after the party had inspected the first steep hill, beside Mr. Blair’s farm. In the opinion of the engineer, it would be impossible to get metal to bind properly on such steep grades, the particular hill being graded about one in eight, and the council had felt that it would be throwing good money away to attempt it. He pointed out, however, that the road had not been neglected, about £6BO having been spent on it in maintenance from 1930 to 1934. In response to requests for improvement some time ago the engineer liad suggested deviation through Mr. E. Adlam’s property, but for some reason this had not met universal approval and the scheme had been dropped. There were now two schemes to be considered. One involved the lowering of the top of the hill by means of a block cutting, taking 35 feet off the top and reducing the grade to one in 15. This presented several difficulties, one being Mr. Blair’s access, which would be cut off, and another the amount of carting to be done in getting rid of the spoil. The second scheme involved a deviation from the bottom of the hill on the west side and across Mr. Adlam’s paddock to the south, thence down the side of the slope to meet the present road at the foot of the hill. This route would be about four or five chains longer, but it would involve very little . work and would give a grade of one in : 15. i The two schemes were discussed by the . deputation, but as decision did not rest ■ with the settlers but with the county ! council, it was decided to ask the coun- . cil to improve the grade of the hill, leav- : ing it to decide the most economical and ; satisfactory means. Mr. Anderson pointed out that it would ; be impossible to raise a loan for the ! work, but once the county loan conversion scheme was completed the work . could probably be done out of revenue. > The council had been spending an average of £135 a year on the road, and this > work would lessen the amount of rnain- » tenance required. The road surface > could also be improved considerably. . Some work on the road grades was > necessary, said Mr. Spence; the council [• could not go on maintaining the road t as it was; it was just throwing money . away. I The party proceeded to another difficult hill by Mr. Crosby’s farm, but Mr. Anderson remarked that only one work could be accomplished at a time out of revenue. The settlers therefore decided that it be a recommendation to the coun- ’ cil from this meeting that the next conj cem on the road be Mr. Crosby’s hill. The engineer also inspected several other matters requiring attention, inf eluding a bad comer on Manganui Road where a motor collision had occurred the previous Sunday.