ROADS OFFICE.
CHIEF ENGINEER R. H. WOODMAN, B.Sc. (Eng.) (Lond.).
GENERAL.
159. The Colony's roads are undergoing a steady transformation from the light forms of construction suited to the traffic which they had to carry twenty years ago. The main trunk roads and many of the side roads were originally constructed with four or five inches of waterbound macadam supported by the lightest of foundations and either tar-painted or covered with a bituminous sand carpet. Although they have stood up quite remarkably to the tremendous increase in the daily weight of traffic, many suffered badly due to complete neglect during the period of the Japanese occupation, and are now reconstructed.
160. Main trunk roads carrying bus routes and heavy traffic are being constructed of vibrated concrete protected with a 1-inch wearing surface of 3/8″ bituminous macadam or, where for any reason concrete is not desirable, the road is formed of a 4-inch base of 1½-inch bituminous macadam supported on a 9-inch foundation of hand-packed granite blocks and protected with a 1-inch wearing surface of 3/8″ bituminous macadam.
161. Side roads in the City area have also been concreted in a number of cases but, particularly alongside markets and where street stalls are permitted, the bituminous surface has been omitted to permit easier washing down and to obviate the rapid surface deterioration which occurs on bituminous surfaces in contact with oils and fats.
162. In addition to increasing the loading on the roads, the almost phenomenal increase in the number of private cars in the Colony introduced an acute shortage of parking space in the City area. Although official car parks were marked out in every available space, the demand continued to be overwhelming and it was decided that the green lawns and formal gardens of Statue Square should be sacrificed. The measure is not intended to be permanent and steps had to be taken to ensure that at some future date it would be possible to make a complete reinstatement. After the area had been surveyed, it was photographed from a number of angles and the Architectural Office, after numbering and scheduling every granite block, dismantled the statue plinths and the monumental pillars together with the wrought iron railings and gates and removed them to storage. The entire area to the north of Chater Road was then graded to falls and covered with 3 inches of ½-inch bituminous macadam with a wearing coat 1-inch thick of 3/8″ macadam. Car parks were marked out in herring-bone pattern with feeder lanes. Two hundred cars are now parked there daily and the situation generally has been greatly eased.
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ROADS OFFICE.
CHIEF ENGINEER R. H. WOODMAN, B.Sc. (Eng.) (Lond.).
GENERAL.
159. The Colony's roads are undergoing a steady transformation from the light forms of construction suited to the traffic which they had to carry twenty years ago. The main trunk roads and many of the side roads were originally constructed with four or five inches of waterbound macadam supported by the lightest of foundations and either tar-painted or covered with a bituminous sand carpet. Although they have stood up quite remarkably to the tremendous increase in the daily weight of traffic many suffered badly due to complete neglect during the period of the Japanese occupation, and are now reconstructed.
160. Main trunk roads carrying bus routes and heavy traffic are being constructed of vibrated concrete protected with a 1-inch wearing surface of 3/8′′ bituminous macadam or, where for any reason concrete is not desirable, the road is formed of a 4-inch base of 13-inch bituminous macadam supported on a 9-inch foundation of hand-packed granite blocks and protected with a 1-inch wearing surface of 3/8" bituminous macadam.
161. Side roads in the City area have also been concreted in a number of cases but, particularly alongside markets and where street stalls are permitted, the bituminous surface has been omitted to permit easier washing down and to obviate the rapid surface deterioration which occurs. on bituminous surfaces in contact with oils and fats.
162. In addition to increasing the loading on the roads the almost phenomenal increase in the number of private cars in the Colony intro- duced an acute shortage of parking space in the City area. Although official car parks were marked out in every available space the demand continued to be overwhelming and it was decided that the green lawns and formal gardens of Statue Square should be sacrificed. The measure is not intended to be permanent and steps had to be taken to ensure that at some future date it would be possible to make a complete reinstatement. After the area had been surveyed it was photographed from a number of angles and the Architectural Office, after numbering and scheduling every granite block, dismantled the statue plinths and the monumental pillars together with the wrought iron railings and gates and removed them to storage. The entire area to north of Chater Road was then graded to falls and covered with 3 inches of 12-inch bituminous macadam with a wearing coat 1-inch thick of 3/8" macadam. Car parks were marked out in herring-bone pattern with feeder lanes. Two hundred cars are now parked there daily and the situation generally has been greatly eased.
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