Special Equipment For Benmore Arriving Soon

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28532, 11 March 1958, Page 9

Special Equipment For Benmore Arriving Soon

(From Our Own Reporter)

TIMARU. March 10. 1 The first of four huge shovels ' to be used for earth-moving in • the construction of the Benmore J dam is to be landed at Port Chalmers this month, according to < the project engineer on the site. ‘ The shovel, a four cubic yard dip- ’ per that can fill an ordinary motor 1 truck with one bucketful, will be the first piece of special heavy 1 excavation equipment needed for 1 forming the river diversion cut- ’ ting. . 3 As yet little has been done at ’ the dam site beyond stripping ’ the overburden from the section ■ of country to be used for the - diversion of the Waitaki river. It 1 is not expected that the diversion will be completed until 1960, although the excavation for the cutting should be completed by July next year. The overburden material is being dumped up and downstream from the dam site as most of it is weathered rock and topsoil. The good rock under the overburden is to be placed in the toe of the earth dam. The shovels, a number of dump waggons and drills for placing exnlosives are .expected at Benmore ( by August. Other mechanical ' facilities, for handling cement. I bulk fuel oil and general goods, which are now at the Roxburgh railway station are to be transferred and set up at the Kurow railway station, about 18 miles from the site of the dam, in the near future. Camp Construction The number of workmen employed on the project is gradually being increased although there is not yet any great demand for more men. The increase will be gradual, according to the project engineer, and the additional workmen will be recruited from among those already employed at Roxburgh and Lake Hawea. Progress is being made in the erection of field workshops and administration buildings and offices. The staff hostel for Ministry of Works employees is also nearing completion. It is designed . to accommodate 30 men and comprises a long wing of 30 bedi rooms, a diningroom, lounge and ’ kitchens. A contract has been let for the construction of 12 shops to be completed in June to coincide with the erection of I 50 workers’ dwellings and 10 staff dwellings transferred from Rox- ' burgh. Of the 200 single-men’s huts brought from Roxburgh for the ; No. 1 camp 150 are now occupied j and the cookhouse and ablutions . blocks are in use. The Lindis • Pass route is b :ing used for transferring buildings from Roxburgh - and it is hoped that 250 houses ’ will be brought to Benmore and j set up by June 30. The No. 2 camp of 250 huts is also expected

to be over by June 30, together with the Roxburgh post office, social hall, the police and doctor’s houses and a nurse’s house. The project engineer said it was doubtful if anything further could be brought over the Lindis route after June until the end of September because of the frosts. All of the development up to the end of June is expected to carry the project over the first two years. Roads and services for the entire village are now under construction with the use of two huge machines capable of shifting 16 yards of material in 25 seconds and travelling at 30 m.p.h. with a full load.