Sewers in Concession Nearly Complete: All Roads Now to be Relaid The most interesting item in the annual report of the British Municipal Council of Hankow has refer-roads and sewers, which evidence of highly progress tentions. The report states:
he work of trenching for pipes has continued, almost without interruption, from November, 1924, and is now largely done; and the progress of the work has been accompanied by an accentuation of the deficiencies of the roads in meeting either wet or dry weather conditions; they are by turns, very muddy or very dusty and rapidly wear into uneven surfaces. Rong construction has been allowed to fall somewhat into abeyance in the st two years because of the sewer work but the approaching completion of the latter. makes it possible, as ft is quite necessary, to commence making up the arrears; very little more life can be given, by repair work, to the present surfaces and complete rebuilding as soon as practicable of all the roads must be contemplated.
"New roads of the existing type: can be built throughout the Concession in a period of two years and estimated to be, under existing traffic and general conditions, from three to four years, allowing for constant attention and considerable repair work throughout that time, and they then require to be com: pletely re-made again. No soft road can properly stand up to the hand cart traffic which ig such a feature of the Concession and hard roads, bedded on solid foundations. are urgently needed; a. sufficient foundation is expensive but, itis believed, ix a necessity if any improved type of surface is to be provided.
"A. programme has been worked out for the construction of, firstly, 2 reasonably adequate foundation for every road in the Concession, to be built within the period of the next three years and to be surfaced, with waterhound macadam for pre' sent use and, secondly, for almost all the veals to be surfaced with asphaltic concrete within the sueceeding period of three to five years. The fall scheme is estimated to cost! almost three lakhs of taels. ig hoped that construction on these lines "Will be undertaken as. it is believed that the present method of continual making and re-making is more costly in the long run and ives little satisfaction in use."
The Council's accounts for the past year show that the Concession was administered at a cost of Tls. 237,293, the expenditure being Tls. 21,956 in excess of the income. For the current year the expenditure is estimated at Tls. 273,000. The! proposed capital expenditure for 41926 includes is. 48,000 for the completion of sewers arid Tls. 20,500 for road foundations,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.