The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-03-15
commissioners
WIN FIRST
TRICK
~
Award Hawaii Road Contract
While HiIo Supervisors
Protest.
ACTION AT MEETING HERE
A. A. Wilson, Lowest Bidder, Gets
Job of Building Highway
on Big Island.
From wednesday Advertiser.)

waii county board OF super Nisoi' "'AS
passing a resolution in Hilo, denounc-
ing the proposed Hawaii county belt
road contracts as too expensive, the
Hawaii loan fund commission, general
ly called the belt road commission, was
holding a quiet little caucus in Homo
lulu and passing one of the contracts
Four of the members Of the commls-
sion are in Honolulu. They are Albert
Horner, R. Hind, A. W. Carter and
Superintendent of Public Works Mars
ton Campbell, who is member Of the
coommission ex officIo. Another member,
supposed to be responsible for the res
olution passed by the Hilo board OF
supervisors, denouneing the contract
which the rest of the commission ap-
proved here, is j. D. Lewis, who is
expected to make Hilo howl when he
learns what his colleagues have been
doing.
The Hawaii belt road bids were call
cd for on specifications drawn by En-
gineer R. X. Bishop, who came here
from the mainland as an expert, to
study roads ON Hawaii. Two contracts
were offered. On the first the lowest
bid amounted to 1900 per mile, while
on the second the lowest estimated
cost was about $37 800 per mile. 1t is
against these figures that the super
visors raised protest, but Bishop and
his supporters declare that the Hama
kua coast, on which the road is to be
built, has such weather conditions that
very expensive road is necessity.
Supervisors "Butting M
The supervisors have officially moth
ing to do with the belt road money,
but they passed their resolution in the
character of representatives Of the
public, and declared that "boulevards
are not necessary and that the spe-
cificatons for the road are too elabor-
ate. Good roads can be built for $S,oOo
per mile, say the Hilo supervisors.
Hui Loses Out.
According to correspondence from Hilo,
the supervisors sudden butting into
the business of the belt road commits,
sion is due to the fact that a Hawai-
ian hli lost out when it came to open.
ing the bids. A. A. Wilson is the con
tractor who was lowest on both the
contracts offered. The award of a con-
tract to him means that political hui
which had planned to make nice
thing of the spending of the belt road
money lost its chances, hence an effort
to have all bids rejected and begin all
over again.
The decision reached here MS given
by one of the commissioners means the
belt road commission will proceed tc
award the contract to Wilson for the
sections of the road involved in con
tract No. /, AS advertised. This is fol
three stretches of road amounting Ia
about five and half miles altogether
on the road between Hilo and Haka'
lau, the cost being $l7 900 per mile.
The Worst Road.
Some of this road at present enjoys
the distinction of being the worst road
in the Islands. 1t was built by l.. NJ
Whitehouse many years ago, at cost
of about $4,000 mile. Whitehouse
said yesterday that he knew it was
about "the limit now, and that he
knew when he put it down that il
wouldn't last in that country, but he
op has planned road that will last
said Whitehouse, "and if the s1per
visors succeed in having the specifca
tion changed to make the road cheap
er one, it won't last. He has studied
the climate and the conditions, and tn,
road he has asked for is the kline
needed"
4. meeting of the belt road, or LOAF
fund commission, was to have beer
held in Hilo this week, and the reson
tion passed by the Hilo supervisors wa
designed to affect its action. However
some of the members of the commission
are going to stay in Honolulu, and il
the meantime, while Commissions
Lewis was hustling in Hilo to stop tn
award of any contract, they agreed t
award contract No. one TO Wilson.
The other contract, it is stated, wi
not be awarded. On this stretch G
road, the figures run TO nearly $4,000
mile, and the commission has dete
mined to throw out all the bids.
Horner's View.
f'The character of the road is sue
that expensive construction is nece
sary," said Albert Horner, one of Il
loan fund commission, yesterday. "Tl
road we are planning viii have
foundation that will make it last, d
spite the wet weather. Though the co
per mile may seem large, it must
remembered that the drainage probe
is a very difficult one. We are goiI
to have a road that. win be passab
even if the top dressing is worn Q
by storm.
81 am inclined to think that a co
Wi ha or m MF
that portion of the road covered |
the bids called for, for contract nuI
ber one."