OVERHAUL OF PONTOON

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22139, 19 June 1935, Page 13

OVERHAUL OF PONTOON

VEHICULAR FERRY LANDING THE BIRKENHEAD SERVICE The steel pontoon forming part of the vehicular ferry traffic landing at Birkenhead will be removed to-day for a periodical cleaning, inspection and painting. It is anticipated that the landing will be out of commission about a fortnight. In the meantime all vehicular traffic from Northcote and Birkenhead will use the facilities at Northcote. The work, which will be carried out by the Auckland Harbour Board, will involve the lifting ashore of the connecting bridge, which weighs about oO tons. For this purpose the floating crane Mahua will be used. The pontoon will then be towed across the harbour to the board's slipway in Freeman's Bay and drawn out of the water. On the completion of the overhaul it will be placed in commission again. The overhaul of the pontoons every few years is one of the disadvantages of this form of landing. In the case of the landings at Mechanics' Bay and Devonport a different principle is employed. In each instance the bridge connection from the shore is suspended at the seaward end by wire ropes. These are attached to an electric motor which automatically adjusts the level of the bridge with tha rise and fall of the tide.