HONGKONG.
REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF PUBLIC WORKS DURING THE HALF-YEAR
ENDING 30TH JUNE, 1898.
371
30
No. 98
Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency
the Officer Administering the Government.
No. 374.
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT,
HONGKONG, 29th July, 1898.
SIR.I have the honour to submit the following report on the work of this Department for the first half of the current year.
ANNUALLY RECURRENT WORKS.
Maintenance of Buildings.—A considerable amount of work has been done under this vote, of which the following are the most important items :
condition.
New floors to the Supreme Court.
New floors in two rooms of Central Police Station.
Repairs, colour-washing and white-washing of No. 7 Police Station.
General repairs and painting to Government House.
General repairs, painting, colour and white-washing the Government Civil Hospital. Repairs and painting Yaumati Market.
"
+3
15
Peak Signal Station.
Aberdeen School.
Hung Hom Police Station.
New Roof and repairs Kowloon Observatory.
Maintenance of Telegraphs.-The lines and instruments have been maintained in a satisfactory With the advice of Mr. PREECE, consulting Electrical Engineer to the Government, an im- proved telephone has been designed which is calculated to withstand better the damaging effects of this climate; a number of these instruments have been ordered from England.
Maintenance of Public Cemetery.—The cemetery has been kept in good order. The available space is now becoming very limited, and extension of the ground will soon become necessary.
Maintenance of Praya Wall and Piers.-Under this vote some urgent repairs to Ice House Street pier and the pier at Stonecutters' Island have been effected.
Maintenance of Lighthouses.-The Gap Rock lighthouse and attached quarters have been painted and colour-washed. The buildings generally are in good order.
Dredging Foreshores.-Under this heading a considerable amount of useful work has been done at Ship Street pier, Bowrington, near Wanchai, and at Shektongtsui. With the present appliances, it is scarcely possible to meet the demands for dredging, and little or nothing has been done in Causeway Bay for some time.
Maintenance of Roads in Victoria.--The roads and streets of the city have been kept generally in good repair. Garden Road, between the Tram station and MacDonnell Road, has been laid with lime and cement concrete. The bridge on MacDonnell Road and the approach to it have been raised and concreted. First, Second and Third Streets have been also surfaced with concrete. Queen's Road Cen- tral, from Ice House Street to the Supreme Court, has been macadamized with 3 inches of the hard blue. crystalline stone (gneiss) of which there is an abundance in the Colony. The general use of this stone would result in harder, smoother and better roads, not liable to become a mass of greasy mud in wet weather; but owing to its extreme hardness, contractors demand double rates for breaking it, so for the present it has only been used experimentally, other arrangements for utilizing this stone, by obtain- ing stone-crushing machines, are under consideration. The introduction of a steam road roller will result in street repairs being much more rapidly and efficiently done.
Maintenance of Roads out of Victoria.—The roads and bridges in the Colony are in fair order, and after the rains will be re-surfaced where necessary. A portion of Wanchai Gap road has been con- creted. The following is the mileage of different classes of roads in charge of the Department :--
Carriage roads......
Roads outside Victoria
.......................264 miles.
Roads in Victoria too steep for wheel traffic..
Peak District
Kowloon roads
Total.....
14 >> .40
;
3
>
8
.20
.108 miles.
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