Department of Main Roads New South Wales, 1933-34
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1934. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPARTMENT OF MAIN ROADS. NINTH ANNUAL REPORT FOR Year ended 30th June, 1934. Ordered by the Legislative Assembly to be printed, 11 December, 1934. SYDNEY : ALFRFD JAMES KENT, I.S.O., GOVERNMENT PRINTER. 1984. 49425 *208—a [45. 6d.] MAIN ROADS ACT, 1924-31. NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. CONTENTS. PAGE. PART I.—PRELIMINARY— The Minister 1 Amending Legislation 1 Renewal of Federal Aid Roads Agreement ... 2 Increased Rate of Assistance to Councils for Works of Maintenance and Con struction on certain Mountain Pass Main Roads ... 4 Ordinance Regulating Weights of Vehicles on Roads ... ... 5 Heat Treatment of Earth Roads ... ... 6 Annual Conference of State Road Authorities ... ... ... ... ... 6 Seventh International Roads Congress ... ... ... ... ... ... 6 Upper Clarence and Richmond Valley Developmental Works 6 Unemployment Relief ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 Aggregate Statement of Income and Expenditure for the twelve months ended 30th June, 1934 8 PART II.—COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND MAIN ROADS FUND— Income and Expenditure 9 Balance-sheet 10 Loan Liabilities 10 Construction 12 Summary of Construction Work and Expenditure ... 14 Delay in Expenditure of Construction Funds ... ... ... ... ... 18 Maintenance and Minor Improvement 18 Maintenance by Councils 18 Maintenance by Department ... ... ... 19 Main Roads—Proclamation and Length 24 Secondary Roads—Declaration and Length ... ... ... 24 PART III.—COUNTRY MAIN ROADS FUND— Income and Expenditure , 25 Balance-sheet ... 26 Loan Liabilities ... ... 26 Councils' Contributions to Main Roads ... 26 Proclamation of New Main Roads 27 Length of Main Roads ... ... ... 28 Length of Country Highways controlled by Department 28 Maintenance and Minor Improvement Works by Councils 28 Maintenance and Minor Improvement Works by Department ... 35 Construction ... ... 38 Summary of Construction Expenditure • 43 PART IV.—DEVELOPMENTAL ROADS FUND— Income and Expenditure ... 50 Balance-sheet ... ... 50 Total Expenditure on Developmental Roads ... ... ... 51 Loan Liabilities ... 51 Allocation of Funds for Developmental Roads ... ... ... 51 Unemployment Relief Works on Developmental Roads ... ... ... 53 Proclamation of Developmental Roads ... 53 Summary of Individual Works and Expenditure 54 PART V.—FEDERAL AID ROADS FUND— Income and Expenditure 55 Finalisation of Federal Aid Roads Fund * 55 Summary of Expenditure in Road Classification ... ... 56 Programme of Work and Expenditure 57 iv PAGE PART VI.—SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE ACCOUNT— Income and Expenditure 58 Balance-sheet 58 Financial Position of the Bridge 58 Capital Cost of the Bridge 59 Traffic 60 Revenue 60 Disposal of Residue Lands and Administration of Properties 61 Maintenance and Upkeep 61 PART VII.—MISCELLANEOUS— Summary of Annual Revenue and Expenditure of Main and Developmental Roads Funds 63 Summary of Work Authorised, Completed and in Progress 65 Tree Planting on Main Roads 66 Milepcsting of Main Roads _ 66 Motor Vehicle Registration and Petrol Consumption 66 Testing Laboratory ... ... 67 Staff—Industrial and Employment 67 Acknowledgments ... • • • 68 MAIN ROADS ACT, 1924-31. DEPARTMENT OF MAIN ROADS, NEW SOUTH WALES NINTH ANNUAL REPORT, (FOR PERIOD 1ST JULY, 1933, TO 30TH JUNE, 1934.) The Honorable the Minister for Transport, Sydney. In accordance with the provisions of section 6 of the Main Roads Act, 1924-31, I have the honour to submit the Ninth Annual Report for presentation to Parliament, through the Minister, covering the period 1st July, 1933, to 30th June, 1934. A few matters in this Report are carried beyond the latter date for convenience and completeness of record. fc PART I.—PRELIMINARY. MINISTER. During the whole of the period covered by this Report, Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. M. F. Bruxner, D.S.O., M.L.A., Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport, has been in charge of the administration of the Main Roads Act. AMENDING LEGISLATION. During the year the Main Roads Act was amended by the passage of the Finances Adjustment (Further Provisions) Act, 1933, which was assented to on 12th December, 1933. By this Act that portion of the liability for loans expended on main roads since the commencement of the Main Roads Act on 1st January, 1925, up to 30th June, 1928, which had previously been borne by Consolidated Revenue, was transferred to the County of Cumberland and Country Main Roads Funds, and an annual sum of £135,000 was transferred from the Country Main Roads Fund to the Developmental Roads Fund for expenditure on developmental roads. The loan liability involved, including, that in respect of loans expended on developmental roads from 1st January, 1925, to 30th June, 1931,- and the corresponding annual payments are set out in the following table :— Loan Liability. Annual Payments. County of Cumberland Fund— £ s. d. £ s. d. (a) Ordinary Works 581,488 18 0 29,568 0 1.1 (b) Unemployment Relief Works 91,500 0 0 4,052 13 6 Totals * £ 672,988 18 0 34,220 14, 4 Country Main Roads Fund—- («) Ordinary Works 1,918,090 10 11 97,408 7 0 (b) Unemployment Relief Works 104,250 0 0 8.843 10 0 Totals £ 2,082,940 16 11 ' 105,812 3 /) Developmental Roads Fund— (a) Ordinary Works 714,874 15 9 30,380 11 ft (b) Unemployment R,eiief Works 135,069 0 7 0,905 9 3 Totals £ 850,544 2 4 43,292 0 9 Grand Totals .£ 3,000,473 17 3 183,324 IS 1 Less Amount payable prior to Finances Adjustment (Further Provisions) Act 14,893 0 11 Nett Inerease in Liability 168,431 17 2 As a consequence of this legislation the moneys derived from the special taxation imposed by the State for road purposes, viz., the State vehicle taxation, and certain contributions levied on or received from councils, and that proportion of the petrol tax paid by the Commonwealth to the State for similar purposes, are now responsible for the whole of the normal State expenditure on main and developmental roads, i.e., other than those now undertaken on behalf of the Government in the relief of unemployment. In commenting on this legislation when the Bill was before Parliament, it was stated that the Government considered that by arranging road finances in this manner and placing them on a par with those of other services, such as the Railways, Water Supply, Harbour Services, etc., a state of stability for the Main Roads Funds would be brought about. The necessity for the stabilisation of the financial basis of the two Main Roads Funds was previously reported upon in the Fourth Annual Report of the Main Roads Board, and it cannot be too strongly urged that the principle of the reservation for road purposes of State motor taxation and the proceeds of any petrol taxation transferred from the Commonwealth to the State should be respected. These taxes represent taxes on road transport, and constitute part of its cost. It has been previously shown (see article on " The Cost of Transport in New South Wales," published in the February, 1934, issue of " Main.Roads *') that of a total annual cost of transport in New South Wales amounting to £67,000,000, road transport is responsible for £42,500,000, or 63 per cent. When regard is paid to the large extent to which transport *49425—A 2 enters into the cost of all things—probably amounting in the aggregate to 60 or 70 per cent, of the total— and the high proportion of this that is represented by.road transport, it will be realised that all taxes on road transport go to the root of the costs of production and distribution. The expenditure of money on the building of good roads means more than an equivalent lessening of the costs of maintaining the road vehicles . which use them and of the sums otherwise expended on petrol and oil. It is, in fact,.an axiom of road transport that we pay for good roads whether we have them or not, and we pay less for them if we have them t than if we do not have them. Apart altogether from these considerations of a national character are the great administrative difficulties which are involved by successive alterations to the basis of the Main Roads Funds Such alterations cannot be foreseen, and, in any event, anticipatory action can hardly be taken. Programmes that have been prepared and are in progress covering several years ahead have had suddenly to be adjusted to the new and substantial obligations assumed by the Funds. This has exercised a very disturbing influence, which has not made for economical working. The principle that has now been established in the Act for some years is that the State motor taxation and the proceeds of the petrol tax received from the Common wealth should be allocated wholly to roads, and this, it is considered, is essentially sound. If this view be accepted, then it must be agreed that the basis of the Main Roads and Developmental Roads Funds have reached bedrock. s 'RENEWAL OF THE FEDERAL AID ROADS AGREEMENT. The Federal Aid Roads Agreement commenced on 1st July, 1926, the Commonwealth G-overnment agreeing that from that date it would make available to the States from revenue the sum of £2,000,000 per annum for roads, and the States that they would subsidise this grant to the extent of 15s. in the £. The Commonwealth assistance was distributed on a population and area basis, which resulted in the New South Wales share being fixed at £552,000 per annum, the State being responsible for a corresponding contribution of £414,000 per annum. TheTe was thus available for expenditure on Federal Aid Roads in New South Wales a total of £966,000 per annum. The agreement incorporating this arrangement stipulated that the expenditure should be on works of construction and reconstruction only and that each State should maintain a separate fund into which the Commonwealth and State contributions should be paid.