ORDERED TO RETURN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 269, 12 November 1937, Page 8

ORDERED TO RETURN.

WIFE LEAVES HTJSBXND. Before Mr. Justice C'allan, in the Supreme Court, Hubert Hoy Burrett (Mr. Singer) successfully petitioned for an order for restitution of conjugal rights against Eileen Maud Burrett. Petitioner said he was married to respondent in April, 1924, and in 193.) respondent went to Wellington. Since then she had refused to return to him, and he had been maintaining her all the timv He had a home ready to receive her. An order was made for respondent to return to petitioner within 14 days.

TRAFFIC TUNNEL FROM QUEEN STREET. DISAPPROVAL OF EXPERTS. PREFER EASTERN HIGHWAY. Strong disapproval of any scheme to construct a tunnel under Albert Park and (Jovernnient House to provide an outlet for traffic from the heart of the city was voiced by members of the technical group of the Auckland Town Planning Institute at a meeting yesterday. The chairman of the group, Mr. E. V. Blake, stated that a proposal had been put forward that a tunnel should be formed from Victoria Street East to Oitto* Street, at the approach to Parnell. The dimensions and cost of the tunnel had not been indicated, but to be of real value for the relief of the traffic of the city it would have to be very capacious and therefore very costly. Estimate of Cost. An estimate of the length showed that the tunnel would have to be at least 33 chains long, and, assuming that a roadway of 36ft was formed, with a 3ft path on each side, the technical group estimated that the cost, based on that of the Kilbirnie Tunnel, Wellington, would approach £250,000. In the opinion of members, a more efficient design, if a tunnel scheme were adopted, would be to have two 24ffc tunnels, 48ft apart, each with a 20ft roadway and a 4ft path. For twin tun"nels of this size the cost would be about £290,000, and comparing the traffic capacity with that of a single tunnel the benefit in relation to the expenditure would be considerably greater. 1 The technical group, however, took the view that traffic congestion in Queen Street and its vicinity would not be reduced to any appreciable extent by a tunnel outlet at the point suggested, and that two new centres of congestion would be created, one being at the junction of Queen Street and Victoria Street, where all the characteristics necessary to produce acute congestion would immediately arise. Relieving of Congestion. "The benefits would be totally incommensurate with the huge cost," said the members of the group in a joint statement. "It is extremely unlikely that Government funds would be available as a subsidy towards the cost, as expensive machinery and specialised labour would have to be utilised in the construction. The tunnel is proposed ostensibly to relieve congestion in city traffic, but this could be done much more economically and efficiently by the provision of an eastern -traffic outlet across Hobson Bay, which would provide ail arterial by-pass road into and out of the city, and would remove congestion at all the worst points. An eastern outlet would also open tip large areas to the east and south of Auckland which at the present time are empty or only sparsely settled owing to unsatisfactory transport facilities..

"Taking a broad view of the whole proposal, a tunnel scheme would be * purely local matter, whereas an eastern outlet would be of regional importance."