TUNNEL VERSUS CANAL

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 246, 14 October 1908, Page 8

TUNNEL VERSUS CANAL

- j A CANTERBURY PROBLEM. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) CELRISTCHURCH, this day. , Despite the discussion that is raging t on the subject of the Sumner-Ghrist- - church canal, it has been asserted that the construction of the Lyttelton tunnel i has proved to be a great mistake from - the point of view of the effect it has had i in retarding the progress of Chr__church - and of North Canterbury. A suggestion, • is being made that, instead of embarking i on the construction of a canal that will j ■ probably cost two -miUkma sterling, a . second tunnel should be pierced through , ! the port hills. The advocates of the I j second .tunnel assert that, taking present rates of wages as a basis, and calculating I the cost of the work at the same rate as ' , the cost of the Arthur's Pass tunnel (say j £ 100,000 per mile), a second tunnel! , could 'be made for £100,000 or £150,000,' . a_s compared with the cost of the present j . tunnel, which is 2870 yards in length, and ' -was completed in IS6S, at a total co3t of , £195,000. In addition to the advantage , of lesser cost, as compared with the ca____l, , the advocates of the second tunnel claim '. that the difficulty at Lyttelton at present is not the lack of wharfage accoui- I modation nor the absence of sufficient , depth of waiter- but is the -insufficient , space available for making up goods I j trains? They contend that the present tunnel should be used only for goods . traffic, and that the goous train should be. j . made up at Beatheote, the station at the • end of the tonne, furthest from Lyttel- . ton. The second tunnel would be used I . for passenger traffic. The proposals have not yet taken definite form, but, if they , should, and if they meet with the sup- . port of the commercial and business mii terests, i$ -will prove a severe blow to the . canal agitation, which has already been weakened by the Government decision regarding the rates for goods between 'Ly-iei-on and C__is_cl_t_____,