51

D.—l

Traverse - Branch River Road (Marlborough County). —7B eh. were formed and metalled and two 40 ft. culverts completed. East Takaka Main Road (Takaka County). —1 m. 13 eh. metalled. Little Wanganui - Wangapeka Road (Buller County) . —2 m. 60 eh. of road widened to dray-width, 3 m. 57 eh. gravelled, 63 eh. track formed, and 100 lin. ft. of culverts laid. Westport - Greymouth Coast Road (Buller County). —Work on this road proceeded during the year, and with the exception of the section of 9 m. between Fox's River and Punakaiki has now been declared a secondary highway. During the year, Im. 32 eh. of formation and 2m. 65 eh. of metalling were done, and 759 lin. ft. of culverts were laid. The plans for the Punakaiki and Pororari River bridges have been approved, and arrangements are being made for purchase of materials. Brunner - Blackball Road (Grey County). —lm. 35 eh. of engineering surveys were carried out, 1 m. 6 eh. constructed, 12J eh. gravelled, and 136 lin. ft. of culverts were laid. Koluku-Bell Hill Road (Grey County). —51 eh. dray-road formed, lm, 72 eh. gravelled, and 426 lin. ft. of culverts placed. This road is now completed, and forms a connecting link between Greymouth and Inchbonnie. Matakitaki - Springlands Junction (Inangahua County). —An additional 4 m. 40 eh. of engineering surveys were carried out, 3 m. 11 eh. were formed 17 ft. wide, 2 m. 69 eh. gravelled, three bridges erected, and 356 lin. ft. of culverts laid. When completed, this road will form an alternative route between Nelson and Greymouth. Dorothy Falls Track (Westland County). —This road will eventually give tourists access by car to Dorothy Falls via the newly gazetted Lake Kanieri secondary highway. During the year Im. 40 eh. of engineering surveys were completed, 1 in. 17 eh. of track widened to i 4 ft., 74 eh. gravelled, and 42 lin. ft. of culverts laid. Menzies Bay - Little Akaloa (Akaroa County). —170 eh. of road were formed 12 ft. wide in heavy side-cutting, mostly in rock, and the same length was metalled. The work was carried out by unemployed, and the road is now completed. Coskerie's Road (Ashburton County). —This road was completed with the metalling of 2 m. 25 eh. Valetta - Cavendish Road (Ashburton County). —4 m. 25 eh. of formation completed. Ball Hut Road (Mackenzie County). —54; m. of road have been formed in heavy side-cutting, mostly in rock, and a bridge 40 ft. long was erected over Blue Lake Stream. The completion of this work permits of all traffic getting to within 4 m. of the Ball Hut. Beach Road (Waipara County). —Relief workers completed 10 m. of formation in side-cutting, partly in rock, and. placed all necessary culverts. Kinloch Settlement Roads (Wairewa County). —2 m. metalled. Longpoinl Road (Cluiha County). —2 m. 39 eh. were widened and 35 eh. metalled. Little Valley Road (Vincent County). —6 m. 20 eh. were formed and 1 m. 40 eh. gravelled. Tussocky Road (Waitaki County). —3 m. 40 eh. were gravelled. Evansdale - Karitane Road (Waikouaiti County). —Widened to 20 ft. for approximately 12 m., improvements being made to curvature, visibility, and drainage. Otara - Ilaldane Road (Southland County). —4 m. 75 eh. of engineering surveys were carried out, and relief workers formed 4m. 75 eh. In addition, 32 eh. were surfaced and forty-nine culverts placed. Waikawa - Ghaslands Road (Southland County). — 7 m. of engineering surveys were carried out and the same distance formed by relief workers ; 4m. 10 eh. were surfaced, one bridge was erected, and sixty-four culverts were placed. Manapouri-Te Anau Road (Wallace County). —Relief workers were placed on this road and completed 6 m. of formation. Naturally it cannot be expected that the same mileage of roading can be done for the same amount of money as was the case a few years ago. At one time preliminary metalling could be carried out to a very moderate standard, but nowadays, with the certainty that motor-lorries will use a road as soon as it is surfaced, it is necessary to spend far more per mile than used to be the case; also, better curves, wider formation, and stronger culverts are now required. HYDRO ELECTRIC WORKS. Arapuni. No. 1 Section of Contract. —Messrs. Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth, and Co. continued to make good progress on No. 1 section of their contract, this section including all the headworks up to the penstock intakes. By the end of November, 1927, the concreting of the dam was completed, with the exception of the parapets and roadway in bays Nos. 1 and 2. The total quantity of material excavated for the dam and cut-off walls was 95,950 cub. yd., and the total quantity of concrete placed was 59,950 cub. yd. Of these quantities, 5,300 cub. yd. were excavated, and 48,850 cub. yd. of concrete were placed during the period under review. The hydraulic pump and cylinders for operating the diversion-tunnel gates were erected and tested before the end of November, and proved satisfactory. At the penstock intakes the concreting of intakes 5, 6, 7, and 8, which was commenced during the period covered by my last report, was completed, as was also the concreting of intakes 1, 2, 3, and 4. This work, together with the placing of screens on intakes 1, 2, and 3, was finished just prior to the water