PORT AND CITY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18921, 9 February 1927, Page 11

PORT AND CITY.

TO TUB tpITOB Of TO! fStSS Sir, —lii our letter published in The Piikhs of January 26th, wo dealt with and, wo venture to siiv. completely disposed of tho Progress League's unjustifiable statements made in connexion with tho ventilation problems of the tunnel road, which wo advocate as tlie filly key to the door which has locked Canterbury tip for' over lorty ycara and stilled her demand for expansion, and we hope that the Progress League will now be able to find u new formula whereby they may, without loss ot prestige, unite with us in our advocacy of the vehicular tunnel which is the 0110 vital constructive move, to release t'neo and for all timo the Government stranglehold on our commerce. Wo havo alreudy pointed out in our first letter appearing in Tub Pices* of April 30tli, l'JL'li, that the advent of tho tunnel load and u remodelled Lyttelton would result in a 'universal fillip to provincial as well as Dominion industry of all (.'lasses and also bo the most effective of antidotes for that most deadly of poisons known to trade —unemployment. In this connexion wc beg to quoto a recent editorial from "Engineering News Kecord," tho leading technical journal in America: "More than ordinary significance is attached to tho Interstate Commerce Commission's authorisation of the Lackawanna Railroad's proposal to build a largo freight terminal with ltccessory track extension in Jersey City reported last week. Tho Lackawanna in common with other roads lias needed for some time largo additions to its Jcrac> shore facilities for handling freight to and from Manhattan • Island. Its decision to locate tho first of these now additions within easy access of tho New Jersey |>ortals of tho Holland tunnel places on record 0113 largo transportation company's views as to the value of the tunnel as a freight artery. It seems altogether possible that tho construction of this terminal of feeder highways such us Now Jersey is now' building and of other similar facilities may so expedite trans-Hudson freight handling tlint the Holland tunnel will lie operating at capacity long before the period originally estimated. Indeed it is not beyond tho bounds of possibility that it will become necessary to limit passeuger car traffic to certain hours of tho duv in order to permit slow moving haulage traffic to use both lanes of travel. We even may hear in a few years of the Holland freight vehicle tunnel."

Regarding the actual \ eiititation of tlio Holland tunnels, td carry a inaximiim nf '2310 vehicles per hour in both directions over a distance of over t«o miles under the Hudson river, it is of interest to quote from "Mechanical Engineering,'' vol. 48, No. 11, November. 192 G. the leading article. "Safety and the Holland Tunnels," which describes better than wo can, the searching investigations carried out and the plant necessary to attain perfect safety. "The. opening of the Holland vehicle tunnels early in the spring of 19 - J" may b© expected to bring the usual chorus of protestations and predictions of disaster from the doubting Thomases. To counteract any adverse impressions that they may create regarding the safety of these new traffic arteries between New York and New Jersey, it may be well to bear certain facts i" mind and to use them in attempts to convert these doubters as quickly as possible. Let it be known that those who dreamed of an underground roadway for motor vehicles realised better than the doubters the dangers accompanying the release of vast quantities of carbon monoxide in an enclosed space occupied bv human bcinus. So well did thev realise this that they caused to be made the most elaborate penes of tests in the historv of tunnelling to settle the permissible concentration of this deadlr gas and to determine the necessarv constants permitting them fr> design adequate ventilating equipment A careful stud'- of the results showed that a concentration of four parts or f > in 10.COO narts of air can be endured for one hour by the average individual with safety.- The necessary.

constants «,.,. uvieniiiiieu at the University of Illinois in a specially coii-»trin.-tcd tunnel equipped to rcpru'.tuct: the; various conditions desired. The designers lii>t (..juddered tho plan •>: dnviin: the necessary fresh air through the tunnel from end to end, but calculations revealed galo-liko currents which would make ~ the operation of vehicles tlifliuult. Fresh air will be admitted to the tunnel through loiitnnu•Jiis slots a few inches above the pavement, and will spread out. over '.h: Ho r in j. sheet with no pajvepiiMe disturbance, i;i>i;,-. it will ean-v the foul

'"' to" ceiling, where they will '■■■• dra.Mi vents into the exhaust dun-. J',, o (f C( . t :l complete of ;ii r cvei-v 1J minutes will require the staggering figure of 3.70't.U0i» (■nine l.vt pe,. minute. A total of SI fans will !* supplied, with of, of Jicse in operation normally, one-third of the capacity Ikmiij; held in reserve. Extra proc-niitimis have been taken to ensure continuous power. Current will he available from three sources on csicli side ol ihe river, each, being of sufficient rapacity to carry the entire load. Provisions have been made at each terminal for handling stalled ears within the tunnel, reducing tie-ups to a minimum. Block signals placed at frequent intervals will permit instantaneous communcation with the entire traffic lino. Fire plugs and hose lines will bo available everv 120 feet Telephones will | IC hut .|gf) feet apart. The roadway will be hrilliantly lighted bv the latest type of illuminating svstem with the lixtnres installed flush' with the walls and well out of harm's way." Wq arc able to record that we tiro in constant, communication with the designers of tl.o above svstem and other world authorities, enabling us to design a cheap and perfectly safe system for the proposed new tunnel at Ileathcotc. As one nf our consulting engineers says: "The lack of any grade in your tunnel as compared with the Holland tunnel would also be a good reason for redwing the air requirements per car mile." As soon as our wind investigations and topographical survey are complete, in due course we will place the complete svstem hefore the public. Thus, another constructive step has been taken to prove that a vehicular tunnel is a practical proposition, and the only means for Canterbury to obtain freedom from tins intolerable excess of bureaucratic control over our provincial communications.— Yours, etc.. TflE PORT AND CITY COMMITTEE.