MAIN HIGHWAYS.

Wairarapa Age, 28 May 1936, Page 2

MAIN HIGHWAYS.

EXPENDITURE IN MASTERTON COUNTY. PERMANENT SURFACING WORKS. -PROPOSALS FOR COMING YEAR. “The total expenditure on main highways including both maintenance and construction amounted to £24,718, the expenditure in the previous year totalling £36,130, which rep-resents a decrease of £11,412, 7 ’ states Mr. J. €. D. Mackley, Clerk to the Masterton County Council in his annual report, when referring to main highways. Mr. Mackley goes on to state that the subsidy received from the Main Highways Board in respect to work performed by the council on Main Highways amounted to £17,004, as against £23,087 last year, a drop of £6,083. The drop in subsidy is accounted for by the less comprehensive programme of works undertaken last financial year. Of the net cost to the council £5,180 was provided from revenue and £2,534 from loan. In regard to the maintenance cost of main highways, 71 yer cent, was provided from the Main Highways Revenue Fund and 29 per cent, from the council’s own funds. The basic rate of subsidy payable from "this fund is 75 per cent, of the total cost, but owing to certain items not being recognised for subsidy purposes, but which are actually a charge against maintenance, the council has been required to meet the full cost of4hese items from its own funds, with the result that the subsidy has not reached the proportion of 75/25. The proportion of the total maintenance costs shared by the Main Highways Board and the council for the year 1935-36 was in the ratio of 71/29. The total length of declared Main Highways controlled by the Council is 94 miles. In a table, Mr. Mackley sets out the cost per mile for each individual main highway for the past year, the costs ranging from £65 per mile to £146 per mile. It was pointed out that 52.9 per cent, of the total subsidy was in connection with works that were a charge over the whole county. The bridge reconstruction programme commenced in 1934 was completed during the year with the exception of the Ruamahanga River Bridge at Opaki. The programme of permanently surfacing main highways is also progressing satisfactorily, the total mileage completed at March 31, 1936, being 20. It is proposed for the 193637 paving season, to surface that section of the Masterton-Weber Main Highway, to the Wangaehu Bridge, and also the remaining section of the Masterton-Martinborough Main Highway to the Taueru River Bridge. With these sections completed, the total of surfaced main highways within the county will be 26 miles. The total expenditure incurred in the maintenance of riding roads, that is, roads other than main highways, and including the bituminous surfacing of the certain riding roads amounted to £8,189, as against £6,967 for the same period last year, representing an increase of £l,222.