READY IN 1940.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 139, 15 June 1938, Page 8

READY IN 1940.

NEW POST OFFICE. WORK TO TAKE 2* YEARS. CONTRACT PRICE €83,000. The work of building the new fourstorey block to enlarge the Auckland Chief Post Office will occupy two and a half years, according to information given to-day by the Post master-General, the Hon. F. Jones. He stated that the contract price was £83,094, and that the successful tenderer, Mr. R. A. Cornish, of Xewmarket, was expected to complete the building about the middle of November, 1940. Occupying half the old railway site, at the rear of the Chief Post Office, and extending to the frontage of the street opposite the municipal transport station, the new block will be of the same height as the existing building. As the needs' of the city grow, a further addition, of the same size as that now planned, will be erected on the remaining portion of the site, leaving a private road between for the i»e of post office mail trucks. Features Of Building. The additions now to be undertaken will be of reinforced concrete and will rest on a cellular reinforced concrete raft, of similar construction to that for the departmental building in Jean Batten Place, instead of on "the usual concrete piles. The tilled ground under the raft will be retained by interlocking steel sheet piling driven 36ft into the ground around the entire foundation. A space will be provided between the new and existing portions of the post office building to permit independent movement in the event of earthquake vibrations. On the north side six truck entrances will be included under the shelter of a cantilerered reinforced concrete awning, with pavement light insets. Three lifts, in addition to a letter lift, will be provided, and the building will be equipped with special machinery for the rapid and economical handling of mails. Internal heating will be supplied by a central plant in the existing building. Externally the new portion will be finished in coloured cement over the concrete. While of totally different construction from the present building, harmony in design will be attained by the adoption of arches of concrete lining up with the existing brick arches. A feature of modern interest will be the use of glass brick round the lower storey and to the stair in the north-east corner. The glass bricks will be Sin square and 4in thick, hollow, with a partial vacuum inside, giving insulation against heat and cold, while admitting a large percentage of light. Easy Handling of Mails. The new building •vHll be used principally for the handling of mail. The letters will be convdyed directly from posting slots, to be built on the Queen Street side of the existing post office building, to the uprier storeys of the new portion by meaps of endless belt conveyors, the general principle being to sort the mail on the upper floors and distribute it by meaiis of chutes to the various branches. Incoming mail will be lifted by mechanical bag conveyors and lifts from the truck entrances will go through similar operations. The second floor will be devoted to m*il sorting, the first floor to parcels, and the ground floor to dispatch and delivery. Certain necessary rearrangements in the existing building, including the provison of a new private box lobby, will be carried out to coincide with the completion of the new addition. By relieving congestion in the present post office, the extension will make more space available for the savings bank arid will enable much more accommodation to be setj aside for the needs of the public.