D— 1.

The Western Hutt Road has been practically completed between Melling and Silverstream, and good progress is being made with the erection of the large reinforced-concrete bridge which will carry the traffic across the Hutt River at Silverstream on to the existing main north highway to the Wairarapa. The entire reconstruction of the Haywards —Pahautanui Road has been well advanced, and I have no hesitation in saying that the improvement over the old road is really amazing. Construction work on the Main South Road in Westland has been continued vigorously during the year. The new steel suspension bridges over the Fox and the Cook Rivers have been completed, and of the 32 miles of road to be built between Weheka and Bruce Bay, 22 miles have now been constructed. Surveys are beingmade of the road between Bruce Bay - Haast - Jackson's Bay, and the construction has actually begun on the Jackson's Bay end, where a wharf is also being erected. The large works on the Haast Pass Road from the Cold Lakes District to South Westland, and on the Hollyford to Lake McKerrow Road, have progressed steadily during the year. In the King-country work on the Taumarunui-Tokaanu Road, giving a direct connection from Taumarunui to Lake Taupo, and on the Waiouru-Tokaanu Road, giving a direct north-south route on the eastern side of the mountains Ruapehu, Tongariro, and Ngauruhoe, has been continued steadily. The new road, known as Coronation Drive, on the Waitakere Ranges at Auckland has been partly completed, and has proved so popular with motorists that complaints have been made regarding the insufficiency of parking-space. The rise and fall of expenditure on reading generally over the last twenty-five years is illustrated by the graph hereunder.

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT NET EXPENDITURE ON ROAD CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING MAIN HIGHWAYS FOR YEARS 1913-14 to 1938-39

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