D.—l

138

An analysis of the Board's expenditure and the expenditure by local authorities under the Construction Fund shows the following position : —

The most interesting point with regard to the construction expenditure is that the total amount found by the local authorities in the North Island during the past year is almost identical with the total for the previous year, the figures being £224,670 and £225,042 respectively, while the corresponding figures for the South Island are £37,868 and £30,818. The latter figures indicate very little greater willingness on the part of the local authorities in the South Island to take advantage of the Board's subsidies for construction purposes. Maintenance. It is again gratifying to record that the local authorities of the Dominion have in. the vast majority of cases heartily co-operated in securing better maintenance of the highway system. It is also pleasing to record that the local authorities are continuing to purchase, chiefly with the aid of the Board, considerable quantities of up-to-date maintenance machinery. The average cost of maintenance per mile per annum during the past four years is as follows : 1924-25, £51-7 per mile ; 1925-26, £73-2 per mile ; 1926-27, £111-9 per mile ; 1927-28, £119-9 per mile. The diagram below shows the information in graphical form, and also shows the total number of motor-vehicles in use in each year. It is evident that maintenance expenditure per mile is stabilizing to some extent, and this, no doubt, has in great measure been brought about by the adoption of better methods and the use of suitable maintenance plant, and to a certain degree as the indirect result of the mileage of high-class pavements already laid down.

Graph showing the Relationship between the Annual Cost of Maintenance per Mile of the Main Highway System and the Actual Number of Motor-vehicles using the Roads of the Dominion from 1924 to 1928.

I Board's . , T + 1 B Pe roentage of LoalXttforitL , „ . ., ,, Authorities Total. .Bourn s Contribu- n , -i j- j Contribution. Contribution , Won to Total. : to £ £ £ Nortli Island .. 362,261 224,670 586,931 61-72 38-28 South Island .. .'. 87,643 37,868 125,511 69-83 30-17 Totals.. .. 449,904 262,538 712,442 63-15 36-85