D.—l.

A total of 9J miles of formation were completed during the year, making the total 21| miles to date, on the greater part of which the base-course has been laid. The remaining work is of a lighter nature, and the formation will be to a great extent carried out with the power-grader. A length of " dust-laying seal " has been applied to the main highway in front of the Cromwell Hospital. On the Milton-Queenstown highway 2| miles between Alexandra and Clyde have been prepared and sealed, and sealing was also carried out in the Clyde and Alexandra Townships. At Muttontown Gully, where a deviation is to be constructed, 2J miles have been left unsealed. The 12|-mile Clyde-Cromwell section has been reconstructed and sealed, the work including the erection of the 95 ft. Leaning Rock Creek Bridge. A footpath is being constructed between Cromwell Railway-station and Cromwell. From Cromwell to the Hospital Turnoff, H miles have also been primed and sealed. From the Hospital Turnoff to Queenstown, a length of 36§ miles of reconstruction is in hand. Improvements were started at the Cromwell end of the Kawarau Gorge, and by the end of the year the greater part of the Gorge section had been completed except for the top-course metal. A J-mile length of " dust-laying seal " was applied in the Queenstown Borough. On the Queenstown-Invercargill highway, improvements between Frankton and Kingston consist of widening the lOf-mile section between Lumber Box and Staircase Creeks. Five miles of formation have been completed. Contracts were let for a further section of the Pukeuri-Kurow highway between Horse Gully Road and Bortons. Work was commenced on a7§ mile length, and at the end of the year 6 miles of metalling had been completed and 2J miles primed. Reconstruction of the Leith Valley highway by means of a deviation through Pigeon Flat has been continued. The whole length of 5A miles has been fenced and culverted, and formation is well advanced, 3f miles being completed. Between Kyeburn and Middlemarch the construction of a 35-chain deviation, to eliminate two level railway crossings near Kokonga, has been commenced. The Hawea - Haast Pass highway is being widened and improved over a length of 3 miles along the lakeside section. The reconstruction of the county section of the Port Chalmers - Aramoana highway, 5f miles in length, is in progress, 21 miles being completed. Renewal of the seawall is the main feature of the work, and the widening is being carried out by re-erecting the wall farther out in the harbour. On the Dunedin-Gore State highway satisfactory progress was made with the reconstruction between Milton and Clinton, the J-mile deviation between Lovells Flat and Balclutha being completed, also a further length of 12 miles between Balclutha and Clinton. This formation included three deviations aggregating 2 miles of new formation, on straight alignment avoiding several tortuous sections of the existing highway. Curves have been eased to a minimum radius of 10 chains. Between Clinton and Waipahi the approaches to the Wairuna overbridge have been commenced, using spoil from railway-works in the vicinity. Two short bridges were erected at Kaihiku. Sealing carried out during the year comprised miles between Milton and Balclutha, which completes this section, and a further length of 2 miles immediately south of Balclutha. In addition, 2i miles received a priming-coat. In Green Island Borough the shoulders were widened to the kerb-line and primed through the business area. Bituminous plant-mix smoothing-coats were laid over lengths totalling 15 miles between Green Island and Milburn. On the Milton-Queenstown highway a 3-mile length from Clarksville towards Glenore was reconstructed and sealed. Improvements on the length between Mount Stuart and Round Hill were continued, and good progress made in difficult country. Formation is practically complete to Round Hill, a total length of 5f miles of formation and 1| miles of metalling being completed. A f-mile length in Lawrence Borough was reshaped and sealed, thus completing the borough section. In Roxburgh 1| miles of preparation and sealing were carried out. On the Middlemarch highway the reconstruction and sealing of 7| miles between Mosgiel and West Taieri Church, commenced the previous year, were completed. Reconstruction of the Dunedin - Duke's Road Highway, leading to the Taieri Aerodrome, was continued during the year and the work substantially completed, 1|- miles of formation, 3 miles of base-course, and 2 miles of two-course metalling being accounted for. The priming and sealing is expected to be finished during the current year. Short lengths were prepared and sealed on several of the lesser highways in this district, and a smoothing-coat applied on a 6-mile section between Collingwood and Portobello. Southland District. The reconstruction and sealing of the main arterial route from Dunedin to Invercargill has proceeded throughout the year, 17 miles having been sealed and an additional 25 miles prepared for next season, when it is expected that all unsealed gaps will be completed. The deviation between Pukerau and McTSfab, to eliminate flooding, has been completed except for one bridge, and reconstruction to the county boundary north of Pukerau is also completed. The Otikerama overbridge near Pukerau is under construction. Reconstruction between Brydone and Dacre has been completed, and a seal-coat applied between Dacre and Kennington. Reconstruction between Invercargill and Bluff has been continued and 5-| miles sealed, and a contract has been let for an overbridge at Greenhills.

141