Communications and transit > Enquiry on national public works

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to 1930, a special scheme of improvement was carried out, embracing 1,121 miles. The
improvement involved the following work :
Resurfacing :
Miles
(1) By steamrolling : including the laying of tar or
bitumen macadam 1,048
(2) In concrete and asphalt 62
Alterations, diversions, etc 11
The following is a summary of the work carried out since 193°, approximately :
3,000 miles of water-bound macadam steamrolled and tar-dressed;
600 miles laid in tar macadam or bitumen macadam;
135 miles laid in concrete or asphalt;
2,000 widenings and corners removed;
400 bridges improved or replaced, including 100 new bridges where no
bridge previously existed;
500 miles of new roads made or taken over;
2,000 miles of roads annually surfaced by dressing with tar or bitumen.
The mileage of dust-free road surfaces in 1933-34 was approximately 6,400, compared
with 3,500 in the year 1929-30.
(b) During the financial year 1933-34, works similar to the foregoing were being
carried out at a cost to State (Government) funds of approximately £750,000.
(c) The road and bridge programme for the year 1934-35 embraces an expenditure of
approximately £800,000, and will be generally of the nature of the work outlined under (a).
II.
The State does not undertake the actual work of road improvement. It makes grants
to the councils of counties, county boroughs and urban districts. These grants are partly
a contribution towards the cost of the maintenance of main roads, and, before payment
is made, the State, through the Department of bocal Government and Public Health,
must be satisfied that the work is efficiently and economically carried out. The work
to be carried out on roads by way of maintenance is selected by the local authority, acting
on the advice of their chief engineer or surveyor. In addition to the maintenance of roads,
works of improvement are also carried out by the councils referred to. The Department
of Local Government and Public Health indicates to the councils the amount of money
available from State funds for improvement, and also indicates the particular work to be
carried out. The council’s engineer or surveyor carries out the work, either by employing
men directly or through the medium of a contract entered into between his council and a
firm of road contractors. The Department’s inspectors visit both the maintenance work
and improvement work from time to time during progress, and report to the Department
as to the value of the work done before the Department makes payments. The councils,
at the same time, vote money for the repair and, to some small extent, the improvement
of their roads. The work of repair is carried out by the council’s engineer or surveyor,
who has a technical staff of assistant surveyors under his charge. The work of repair
is carried out on approximately half the mileage of roads by the employment of men
directly, and, on the other half, by setting out the work in small lengths to contract. The
contractors in such cases are either labourers, or landholders with usually very small
holdings. These small road contracts involve an annual expenditure of about £250,000,
almost 100% of which represents expenditure on labour. They keep the small land-