Bridge Re-Construction.

Temuka Leader, Issue 3914, 1 July 1902, Page 3

Bridge Re-Construction.

! MEETING OF TE MU 1C A ILATETA YEllb, ! As stated in Saturday’s issue a public meeting of ratepayers was held in the ; Temuka li.'rough Council’s Chambers on Friday evening last to consider the Council s proposal to borrow .‘:7()0 by means of a ; special loan from the 1 ■uvernim'iit, in oulei that the two bridges destroyed by the recent lie A over the Taum.itakulm "reel; ' at Wilkin and at Mamie struts might be i rebuilt. The meeting was convened in I compli.-.n-e with the provisions of the ! “Municipal Corporal ions Act.’ I'lOU and the ! “ Local Codies Act. Tim night was in wretched one - cold ami dm it ami wet: •’ and this douotlnss in a measure m;e.milled ' for tlie verv meagre aium.t-uum, “'y' 11 ! numbered in all eleven persons. ilm I Mayor (M ijorllayhiust ) mvupiml Dm chair | and' tho others present were .—Councillors I Buxton, Hoary, and Fro.v and s;x rato- | payers. , ... . ( The Mavor rend the. advertisement I published in ibis journal detailing the particulars of the proposed loan ana works, and also the passed at thy I council meeting on the 17th April. 1h .* [ appended letter reo ivod from Messrs I Mea-am am! Merchant. civ.l engineers, . I I Tmiani, was placed be I or- M.» uieef.ng His Worship, The Mayor of '1 ounika. 1 Silt,—As instructed we inspected the silos of the two wrecked concrete culverts in your borough and, 'Herewith, submit sket ch plans of our proposals for their ’ t in Statements. Design No 1. is an iroal an: girder ami d cl; bridge of MUi'l■ sp>n carn-d on c••muvfe abu 1 men Is and iviicis. --s an alternative in tho concrete wont ironbas k oiies and planting might be substituted Design No. 2, has two semiciicttlar aiekos of concrete each 1-211 span with coucielc wing and iihunuenis. Ihe manway in each case would be lidt clear width. If concrete work is used in tuu wings or pier, it will bo necessary to ioand it on piling. This system is recommem.cg in preference to sunning deep conciece foundations, on account of ils great cheapness ns compared until the deep con Crete work. The question will piooahl_\ be asked ; Is this sort of work durable ? Timber always submerged in water never decays : as an example, we may point to the swamp timber so common in your neighbourhood. Piles lor this can be cheaply obtained from the Geraldine Count v Council when the disused h-ngOi o, the Opihi bridge is dismantled, and our esfcim ites are based on the price we think thse could be obtained fm ; if new piles are to be used the estimates given wid ho somewhat; exceed. Concerning the amount of waterway required in bridging this creek the suggestion was mane to us that a very small culvert ouiy was needed It, pa the ordinary and usual Hood discharge air t Ids creel:, and that i.o'.hi’'g mor e than this was needed seeing that that the Orari’ overflow would goon be stopped. U e think that your Council should make provision for the discharge of as much watei down this creek as has lately been e'.pn ieuced, as it may p .ssibly prove that lulnre overflows of the Oruri river will ho nearly as bad as the late one. for each bridge. Eor design N*i. 1, inaimuk deck audl-ieams, concrete abutments, and wings on piling, AliOO. If ironbark piles and sheeting are .substituted lor iiie concrete work, rill). E“r design No. ( 2, concrete arches on piling, -'-otk'. the timber bridging is cheapest and would la-e. a Jong time and bn loss liaole 'to damage. At the same time wo have a preference lor pennant work wherever it can he umd wit hout any great increase on cost, ri o road or earthwork is included in above estimates for throe in.v.alment >.u the streets. We have, etc., M BASON" AM) M AUCHAN’T. The Mayor said the circumstances of tins destruction of the two bridges were well known, ami did not requiie to be reit era: nu. What the Council purposed doing was lo ru u sir act bridges giving a water-way or Pi feet. Tile argument had been raise ! .hathis width Was altogether too big, and would entail an unnecessarily heavy evpetulilnre. Those ratepayers who in-Id [his view thought the Council mould i-iwc ! bridges after the style of those built by the i'emuka Hoad Hoard, at a cost of about .'MOO each. Tim speaker point s! on* lint to do this might result i money being m-nct.ir.a dy thrown away, .should auotjier Hood as heavy one as the iast come down there was every likelihood of tlm two bridges going again. They most be a more subst iai ial structure limn those dust royud, and a water-way of “if reel, was atcple ro carry off any amount of surplus water that might result should the Drain ovedlow its banks again. A 12 toot span was not sutlicient lo do this and them would always be a scour if such bridges were erected. With regard to the.-a* bridges that had withstood the ravages of the flood the Mayor stated that this was owing to the fart that the water went right over them, and consequently there was no scour to undermine the foundations. Ihe Council in deciding to borrow as much as £7OO, thought it was best to do this in order to make sure. Any sum not used could be refunded, and an allowance of interest would be made by the Government for the money returned. Ihe Council could not budd tbs bridges out ot its ordinary revenue. To do this the streets and other things would have to be given the go-by far two or three years. Of the monev received from the races X.23.> went to the Harbour Board, Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, and in lighting lues These amounts represented about 5-8 d in the £ If the poll Was not carried it would bo accessrry to raise tho general rates by this amount for two or three years, and the bridges would bo abU: to be built without resorting to borrowing money. By the provisions of the Act under which the money wa.s to bo borrowed the Council was compelled to strike a special rate. This was to be a l-12d in the £. Xt was proposed not to collect it tho first year, but to pay the interest out of the principal. When the rate wa e struck the Council purposed reducing tlm general rate by 1-12(1, thus keeping the rates at their present standard. This wungenient practically meant tlm ratepayers getting the loan at no additional cost’to themselves. The Mayor said the rato was chargabh) on the whole of the borojisrh, because it was thought the hrioges were a general benefit. In tho surface water supply schema only that portion of the borouglfthat really reaped the benefit of the scheme had been rated A. ratepayer said tho cost of the bridges seemed to be heavy. The bridge at Green Hayes bad cost only 480, and that was substantial enough. The Mayor pointed out that tho Green Hayes bridge had a span of only 12 Feet, and those, under consideration were to have a 20 foot span. Two engineers besides Mr Merchant had stated that 4250 was the smallest amount at which good bridges could be erected.

‘‘Councillor Brow said he would like to oxnress himself on the subject. It was rather against his gram that money should bo borrowed for bridge building, but after careful consideration he was convinced that to do so was tho best-the onlyplan. Bundled* and thousands of pounds of water congregated in flood time at the point where these bridges were to be built, this was owing to tho peculiar foimatiou of the land thereabouts. If tho bridges i were widened this would give the water a chance to get away freely. The fact that the lioad Board were building bridges at a cost of £IOO had nothing in particular to do vltli the matter. I he •browhenna Town Board t;*4 done the same rhino' and u,e Bridges had stood; but although they had stood m the past that Wits no assure.rife that they wouldatom. m the future. The iwo bridges that 1 ad been swept away were a legacy from the old Town Board. <U»d they mid set vod their purpose well. Bow that new ones were to bo built they should Op of ?i clas o to meet -ill ouiertfcncios. In .answer to a question the Mayor' stud the poll would have to I'.e taken before the expiration of three W.wJvs from the date of the meeting. Councillor Buxton said ho thought fcs there were such a few ratepayers present,

and none from the west side of the borough, that it was inadvisable and unnecessary for the meeting to p iss a formal resolution. The matter had to come before tho ratepayers, and they would have the opportunity of expressing their opinion at | the ballot box. As one of the Councillors ■ who had tiled to solve the difficulty of I erecting the bridges, ho considered that tho I method proposed was the best means of I doing so. It was not perhaps by the least expenditure of money, Imttlio question had n> be.looted at not only from the original outlay standpoint, but durability as well. Where would be the wisdom of building a £IOO 1 ridge if it was swept away, aud tho . Council had to repeat tho dose? Expert evidence went to show that tho estimates , given were as small as could be recoin- I mended for the class of bridge required for | the localities in question, 'the Council had , decided to ash for permission to borrow j

£7i ; o, as it was best, to be on the safe aide. If -0500 was borrowed, and it was after- | wards found that another £IOO was wanted, (ho Council would have to go all through the initial expenses attached to raising the additional lean. It was to save this that they were borrowing £7OO. As the Mayor said, the money not wanted could be refunded, and allowance would bo made. ‘1 ho meeting was then brought to a close.