1928. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. NEW SOUTH WALES. MAIN ROADS BOARD SECOND ANNUAL REPORT FOR Period ending 30th June, 1927. Printed under No. 1 Report from Printing Committee, 26 Airily 1928. SYDNEY: ALFRED JAMES KENT, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, 1928. *4677l 36—a [3*. 9rf.] "PART V.—MISCELLANEOUS—continued. Standard Specifications Standard Drawings ... ..'. ... : Bulletins Bridges ... Standard Loading for Highway Bridges Motor Registration and Taxes Manufacture of Road Rollers in New South Wales Industrial matters Cost of1Administration Delay in appointing Staff Scheme of Organisation Audit Acknowledgments PART VI.—APPENDICES— Income and Expenditure Accounts and Balance Sheets MAIN ROADS BOARD OF NEW SOUTH WALES SECOND ANNUAL REPORT. CONTENTS. PAGE PART I.—PRELIMINARY ... ... ... ... ... - - - - 1 PART II.—COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND MAIN ROADS FUND— Finance ... ... ... ... 2 Liabilities inherited ... ... ... ... ' ... ... ••• 3 Balance of funds ... ... ;.. ... ... ... ••• 5 Construction works instituted in accordance with policy of filling in missing links fi- Summary of work done and expenditure incurred on Arterial, Main and Secondary Highways ... 9- Lengths of New Construction carried out ... ... ... 10 Maintenance by Councils 11 Maintenance by Board :.. ... ... ... ... ••• 12' Digging up of Main Roads ... ... ... ... ... ••• 13 Loans by Councils for the construction of Main and Secondary Roads 14 Proclamation of New Main Roads 15 Declaration of Secondary Roads ... ... ••• 15 Widening of Main Roads ... ... ... ... ... ... 16 PART III.—COUNTRY MAIN ROADS FUND— Finance ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 19' • Subsidies to and contributions by Councils ... ... ... 20 Works carried out by Board ... ... .... ... ••• 21 Gross expenditure and commitments ... ... ... ... ... ... 21- Major works undertaken ... ... ... ... ... ... 21 Great Northern Highway ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 21 Great Western Highway ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 23 Great Southern Highway ... ... ... ... ... ... 23 The Prince's Highway ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 The North Coast Highway 26 Various Country Main Road works ... ... ... ... -•• --• 26• Vehicular Ferries on Main Roads ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 29 • Proclamation of New Main Roads ... ... ... ... ... 30•• Statistics ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 30 PART IV.—DEVELOPMENTAL ROADS FUND— Finance ... ... ... ... ... ... 30 Important works undertaken ... ... ... ... ... 32 Strong construction adopted ... ... ... ... ... 33 PART V.—MISCELLANEOUS— Summary of works and expenditure under the three funds > ... 33 Federal Aid Roads Agreement ... ... ... ... • ... ... ... 34 Trend of road design and policy abroad ... ... ... ... ... ... 35 Disposition of Public Utilities ... ... ... ... ... 36 Problem of tram tracks in Main Roads ... ... ... ... 39 Mutual adjustment of road and railway construction ... ... ... ... 42 Railway Level Crossings 44 MAIN ROADS ACT, 1924. MAIN ROADS BOARD OF NEW SOUTH WALES. SECOND ANNUAL REPORT, 1927. (FOR PERIOD 1ST JULY, 1926, TO 30TH JUNE, 1927.) The Honorable the Minister, for Local Government;, Sydney. In accordance with the provisions of Section six (6) of the Main Roads Act, No. 24, 1924, the Main Roads Board of New South Wales has the honour to submit its second annual Report for presentation to Parliament through the Minister. The report covers the period from 1st July, 1926, to 30th June, 1927, though a few matters referred to are carried beyond the latter date for convenience and completeness of record. PART I—PRELIMINARY. FORMATION OP BOARD. An account of the formation of the Board, and of its composition was given in the First Annual Report, together with an outline of the financial scheme of the Act. CHANGE OF MINISTERS. During the year the Hon. J. M. Baddeley, Minister for Labour and Industry, under whom the Main Roads Act, 1924, was placed by proclamation under the Constitution Act, left upon a visit abroad and the Hon. George Cann became the Acting Minister for Labour and Industry for the period from 8th March, 1927, to 27th May, 1927, being succeeded by the Hon. R, W. Cruickshank, M.L.C., from 27th May, 1927, until the 19th September, 1927, when the Hon. J. M. Baddeley again assumed charge. As the result of a General Election on 8th October 1927, the Government led by the Hon. J. T. Lang was succeeded by the present Government under the Hon. T. R. Bavin, and the administration of the Main Roads Act was transferred from the Minister for Labour and Industry to the Minister for Local Government on the 25th October, 1927, and Lieut.-Col. the Hon. M. F. Bruxner then became the responsible Minister. CHANGE OF FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS BY AMENDMENT OF ACT. , 3»o, \ 2. A 9,24*. During the year Parliament passed the Finance (Taxation Management) Act, 1926, which made a radical change in the Main Roads Act finances. Because the Board had a large bank balance, the Government" appeared to take the view that the Act provided the.Board with more money than it could utilise (not­ withstanding that, as shown by the last Annual Report, works were in hand and commitments entered into to absorb the whole of the available funds). The Government, therefore, introduced into Parliament, and both Houses passed, a Bill to alter the cardinal principle of the Main Roads Act, 1924, which was that the two Main Roads Funds (Metropolitan and Country) should receive the whole of the motor taxations* The new principle introduced was that the County of Cumberland Main Roads Fund should receive only the sum of £106,155 per year out of the Motor Taxation and £6,300 from Metropolitan Traffic Act fees; and that the Country Main Roads Fund should receive only the sum of £452,382 per year from the Motor Taxation Revenue. The remainder, whatever its amount, was to stay in the ordinary Treasury chest (The Consolidated Revenue Fund). The amounts above specified were adopted because they were the amounts of the preliminary estimates of what the motor taxes &c. would be likely to yield, prepared and laid before Parliament in 1924 when Parliament was considering whether or not to adopt the Main Roads Act and its system of finance. The idea upon which the amending measure was framed was therefore, apparently, that the Main Roads Funds should receive only sums equal to the amount which it had been, estimated in the year 1924 that motor taxation would yield in 1925, while the Treasury should be entitled to any sum in excess of that estimate, i.e. the whole of the increase of motor taxation due to the growth in the number of cars. It is desired to submit to Parliament, that the great increase in the number of motor vehicles must increase correspondingly the wear on the roads and render necessary a corresponding increase in the amount of money needed for road maintenance. Further, the large increase in the number of vehicles makes it essential to increase correspondingly the length of reconstructed roads avaitable for them to run upon, -: so that it is_ necessary that there should be a corresponding increase in the money available for construction; and, finally, the great increase in the number of vehicles, and in the speed of traffic, is making it imperative that there shall be prompt measures taken to increase the width of roads, to reduce steep gradients, and still more important, to cut out sharp bends. In a few words, both for public safety and for public service, it is urgent that the funds available for Main Roads be increased wherever possible and that they be not reduced. * Less. 10 per cent, for cost of collection. *46771—A Though it reduced the two Main Roads Funds, the Government utilised a portion of the amount thus taken to provide £138,000 from revenue for Developmental Roads to compensate for the fact that, by not accepting the Federal Aid Scheme at the first opportunity, the Developmental Roads Funds would be less by that amount than in the previous year. The amount collected in motor taxes, traffic fees, &c, from 1st July, 1926, to 30th July, 1927, was £1,264,767. Deducting 10 per cent., the balance which would have been payable into the Main Roads Funds if the Act had not been altered, would have been £1,138,290, whereas the amount actually received under the amended law was £564,837 for Main Roads, or £573,453 less.j But an additional £138,000 was voted for Developmental Roads, as already stated. This large reduction of the Main Roads Funds necessarily had a profound effect on the Board's activities. The Act provides, in section 24, that in dealing with Country Main Roads which are entirely under the control of Local Councils, the Board shall assist the Councils financially by providing not less than one-half the cost of authorised works, but the Board is empowered to give more, if it can and if it sees fit. For the first year, the fifty-fifty principle was adopted, pending the gaining of experience. In the light of this experience, the Board, relying on the growth of motor revenue, decided to raise the ratio of assistance to be granted to Country Councils in 1927 to £2 to £1 (or one hundred to fifty) on the Great Arterial Highways and £1 10s. to £1 {or seventy-five to fifty) on the other main roads. This course, it was found, had a very heartening effect upon the Councils, which showed a greater readiness to co-operate in the work of improving the Main Roads and raising the standard of maintenance and construction. But the alteration of the Main Roads Act finances has had the effect that the Board has not been able to afford to Councils all the assistance which they applied for and.could have utilised under this seventy-five to fifty offer. The Board has met, or is meeting, all programmes of maintenance work on Country Main Roads on the seventy-five to fifty basis; but it has been unable to grant assistance to a number of important construction proposals and programmes submitted for 1927, because, primarily, of the reduction in the revenue of the Country Main Roads Fund. In the County of Cumberland, also, the effect was to delay the carrying out of a number of improve­ ments which the Board would have liked to have effected'—particularly further reconstruction and widening on the Parramatta-road.