TRAFFIC BRIDGE AT ARAMOHO.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11059, 22 September 1903, Page 5

TRAFFIC BRIDGE AT ARAMOHO.

J iQ-M \~*± Proposal to BulloV^R^ptfuoture Again' Rsylvsd* :': ' -

Wanganul and Walt^|u>a Oounty Councils to be Oeputatlonlssd

There was a large, and*: representative attendance of Aramohb" and Eastown residents at tjie meeting in the A.B.C. Hall last (Monday) evening, called for the purpose of considering <the question' ' of building 1 a traffic ' bridge across- the river; »t Aramoho. '.-, • ' ■?. Mr W. T. BsNsFpsL]>, ; jFho, waff, vpted to the chair, ;,explain,ed> why tlie; meeting had been called 1 .;, The time' had come, he thought, when :a traffic bridge should be 'made in tiie-i vicinity j)f Aramoho, and there was? ,no question but, that' it would Ibe * ni£nly .beneficial "\q a. large number' f ofV\th* residents iW tha Wariganui and U -WaitotaTa Cotratieß. • So- far • as', the ijte 'was conearned, he petsdhall?f favoured the bridge being erected above ]the ; pre- 1 . sent structure* and; opposite the Bruns-' wick, Line,., He; had, injected the. bawfcson both, sides of. the. river' in . that local?'.,, ity, and should say that they were , verysuitable for landing*. The ,banks were-, high c and the' landings .'could be, madelevel with the roads.', Another site had been suggested opposite Gibson's, so as to Btrike the IJastowri rdad, but this was not quite so good 'as the first-mentioned site. By, erecting a r bridge' opposite the Brunswick -Line; the :country v both' north and south would be opened up. by the connection of two-, main roads — one rnnmhg to Kai Iwi and th«, other to Okoia and Fordell. The question of site, was.- h however, a matter that coiild be decided ~> later on.' The meeting ; had been called > to discuss the advisability, of taking stepsto erect .a bridge. Three .previous at-r tempts, had been, made rto - get a traffic bridge built across the river, at Eastown/ but those ' efforts ' bad been directed al- , most. splely with; a ,yiew' to so altering.•the present' railway bridjaipiafito -admit of of vehicujaa^ and.,iotllSßP*«>it!y.hifraffic. Now, however, they wdu^pfe\*«. f jfce , ' 7 tb,e -question of. «f^pfcrate**lf&ttlg£:* ■ CTae funds for the put^ose- cou^.)^:* aJmftL by a special loan, repa'yablem^^earajyarid if ,a, - rate were stfuck over .an - area' on both sides of the- river tft^ptlM jsotffte a " very., heavy buftisa., Ife nad-rbeein^sue-geflted the interest' ron .the loan could b.e . met by levying .^teMi;:- but -Be, was averse' to such a propos^k/peVfavoured the erection of a good;%^pter bridge one that would answer all r purpoees for 100 yeare; ,otulf; on similar lines 'to the railway btidge. ;The riyer was very,- deep' at Aramoho, and at- times the current- was very- ■ and a pile* bridge' mfeh,t be : carried, away. . He could not speak with any , degree, of .certainty- as to cost* of; a;cy'lindei*.bridge, but it would run into between 420,000, and; he "should think. . H^ would i»ko,to.;-hfear an expressibn of opinion from; the meetine. 4 ' % X LUNDON. said they : Snust all admit tJmif;. the- erection, ol- a bridge" was of. ,the. greatest- .importance' to- the dis- - tnct;. and the necessity, for the work-'kad been . accen^uate4 i . b> > recent .occurrences .' at Shakespeare's., Cliff. •• Thfr' speaker then .proceeded to gjve. "a, .retrospect of, affairs Jeading up, to the . a . raalwaj station at Bastowii, - for whioh . the land. had' been «iyen.J>y? Mr Joseph . Paul and. himself. » -His, <rea«m for referring to the. station, was- that,, in the - course, of the agitation ..for -its"establishment, he had jbrought before the then Minister of Eadlwayg, -the Horn -Mr Cad- ' man, the question of- a, traffic-bridge for Arajnoho,, >,He (Mjt <I(Wndon)- had suggested the decking .of. -the, railway bridge, { but the general manager; (Mr Eoyn«oe) considered -the bridge ,uhq»fe''lbr such a putpose/' Subsequently y at, the ( speaker's Sugarestton the work of * pkmdinpr a aide v " walk on the bridge had been delayed in the hope .that. something; • w6uld be done in' 'the % way • of " another bridge' being erected. The matter had Japsed,- because np. one came forward: to ..asafafc him in the agitation. Mr ' Macintosh 1 ?had informed ¥^^ w * pile Vn^lßS^VOWl^rtiieflt 415,000. Three ' ways -^'raisin^Mhe* money , had . been _ suggested : . coalescing the two County Councils, „«hd. striking^arate; raising the ifioney. by debenturls ; or providing , it.' by private \. e^terpr^e. Some years ago whe.n -they, were ing the project , he^had „ informed -Mr Benefield that he (the sjgfeaker) \cqnld have raised the money for" jfr ppe r bridge at 4i per cent. At present' /lj|e was xmcertain Which' was the' better pl&Bi.to adopt, prob^ . ably the, striking of a;' rate. The bridge was a necessity, and the' site could be decided later on. There. "w'e^uld be divided opinion on that poiis 'ftfc ; had no doubt, and ' some obstacles would, be thrown in the way. His own dpWipn was that the bridge should 'be- built in*, close proximity • to the; present. brij%ey; lor. choice above it. '.-,** ",J »V. ■■>'■' A-'ifly' '' ifaX T.v STEWART thought the meet,ing -should discaird the- 4dea of a pile bridge." The water was deep and in flood time such a gtructur© h) i»Kquia not be r secure. For the s,ake'.oiya' lew thousand pounds extra; :they should build a cylinder bridge. Whatever «ite were, chosen, . it must be one leading to a» road at either end, and ; the.' .further adrift from the present bridge the -better for the <district. The banks' were ' much better higher up, and .Ihje sjtfc auggfested by Mr Benefield, was most sujfcablG. 'He did not v attach , any importance 'to .the/ slips at Shakespeare's Cliff, as ; jini.*] few months^ they would probably have a good;, road the,re. „■ *'••". < „ ■-.- .• . •,--. ' Mr LTJNDON, in' answer to a> question, said' he had Jieard' it sx^egested ~ thai the - '"Government- would give pound for pound for , a, bridge.' .is . •': .-' ... , T •. . .; .The CHAIRMAN thought, they, would be" justified* in asking £heS<Jovernmehfcf-f&r "• ■pound -for -pound, and favoured the. ide£ of co-operaiang • with-, >the two^Cpunifcy .CounciU. l fle, saw no. reason »w,hy- they should, not assist, as the ;ereotion -. of /w '" _bridgei: would' mean prosperiiy in the district and additiqjial rates,: from which, the Counties wouW/tferise,,, gjeat _ benefit. ' -> : • - ' *■*• ' . : Mr J. PAUL heartily— supposed *i;be proposal to build a traffic bridge, 'at Ara- _ moho, but said that tjhey would ;haye . . put the idea entirely ' out' of ttfeir'miiias that it should be placed alongside the railway bridgeV When' considered the traffic on the bridge, 1 and many trains crossirig during Hhe> dljf', ,> they would realise that it would' be : impossible to cross stock on a bridge' if it were built close to it. FUrthe^, mere wefe no suitable approaches in bibs* proximity to the present atrtitture. " If they went towards / ' ihe< towtf HKey were ■ confronted' With the fact that "the river" w*s' much wider, ,aifd that only on the one side was there V ■ suitable approach. He had come to the same conclusion' as 'iffie^^Ehairmain, that there was only one Rite, and that was at, the iuffetiofi ! of the^Brullswick Line with the Biver Bank Road; " They had splendid banks on either" sHd.e.'' of '"pajpa he believed, and they" could th.UB~ obtain good foundations. They musff^lso discard the proposal about a pile findgfcf and he saw no reason why they should not erect 9. suspension bridge. If it would not He more costly it would' certainly be the more suitable. Many suspension bridges were being btiilt in America '^rtd Canada, and there was the (decided 'adTjantage in such bridges that they wete, npjb affected, I>3r f100d5, ,. , He.^wQUld, „bia^uite^:?eiUittjf =to»-« f'make .nCTomA thtpiigh • hi«'^rop^jty- >"fcn f 'nVeet the' Xo v h M^ or; R^Bdce^t^ jmad ;, running through Mr Lundon'fr township. .

' He did not think Mr Lundon's suggestion M>out- issuincr debentures feasible, -as the willing horse would be worked to death, and he favoured the County Councils, being invited to_ co-operate and striKe a general rate. He believed they would all agree that a; traffic bridge at Aramoho would be of immense benefit to the district, and amongst other advantages it would enable the sale yards being removed from the towniand the sales held in localities more convenient for the settlers and ethers interested. - Mr STEWART, hi answer to a question, sadd he thought a suspension bridge would not." . cost more - than . a cylinder bridge. The : matter was worth inquiring into. ;/■'..', -Mr J- T. WALKER, while anxious to

further the proposal, expressed the opinion that it^ was; to be expected that the „ -ratepayers . __ throughout the Counties would 'consent to beinsr rated for the erection of a bridge which was of purely local interest. ;The Counties and borough had been, t^xed for- the town bridge, which cost something like ' ,£40,000, and the local bodies were only just being res lieved of the annual payments. Under '(. these, circumstaiuce? he did nojb -think the Counties- would -consent to be again rated;, neither did he think the Government would give pound for potind. In his opinion Upokongaro had the first claim for a bridge, as the erection of a bridge at Aramoho would not open up » now district. He had made Inquiries, and had been informed that a cylinder bridsre would cost between .£25,000 and ,£30,000, arid- if the Government did not assist it would be .impossible to rate the people to that extent. They should also bear in mind that sooner- or later Aramoho . would be called: -on" to provide loams for other purpbses, such as drainage, which had become imperative in the interests ' of the people.-' If they desired the bridge they would have to put their hands into their pockets and pay for it themselves by* rating over a particular area. The only inducement 'they would hold out to ■ tlw'Counttes, was that ai traffic bridge at Aramoho would be an advantage in drivings stock... >•.-$- ■- - • ■ „ <•, % ..'TnV'CHAi^lTANsaid thai the W.adtotara County's contribution of about ,£l5O to the" town bridge- could scarcely ,be looked upoiiuara, ay he^vy tmrden. ' l Mr J. 'AND'ERSON (Eastown) differed from Mr Walker "on most points: He admitted that the bridge would be of particular benefit r jx> the residents of A- r aHioho and Eastownj but it would ailso prove a grpat convenience to the district generally. "They must be prepared" to rate •? themselves; if they did not, . they cottld not .expect to receive any benefits. He believed, the .erection of the, bridge nvoald be— the -best th'insr ih'ey- could possibly do, but suggested that certain portions of the Wauganui Gounty should; be excluded from the proposed ratine district; ■ He favoured the Waitotjara fJounty . .Coun&il • and the- Maagawhero. Mataongaonga, and Kaukatea Rbarl. Boards being apuroaiched, and would heartily support the proposal . Mr PAtJL "ridiculed the idea of Upokojijgaro-. havinc greater claims than- Ara* moho-- and. E^stown, sn,d pointed- out that whereas a bridsje at the former place would on^v- .benefit a few. there were main trnnk lin^s north and south to- be %>nn^cte.d; 'if ."the n bridge were '•'built at 4ninoho^ _ ' , - i, >Mr Ferirus ' MURRAY nroposed that tVo representatives eoi"h Hrn Arambho "'^dEastow.n .wait on tn<* Waifotara arid WnnjrsmnVf'o'mjtv Councils. a^-J ascertain tTio ■views'- of those bnrlj(»<» on the p^H-posa-l, and 1 alar»" inquire wli<>f li er .the Governmrnjv will. (rrsnt nound frtr i>oimd. ■ , ' ;; - The seconded. "the <motj#n, which was carried unanimously. Messrs , .Benefield , and • Stewart' (Ara-. in oho) and Paul and Anderson (Eastown) were . unanintously, appointed a deputation to wait on the Councils mentioned. . A. vote o$ v thanks to |he chair terminated the proceedings* . . 1. „ / .