Rain Falls As Workmen Repair Storm Damage

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30028, 12 January 1963, Page 13

Rain Falls As Workmen Repair Storm Damage

A heavy drizzle started to fall over the central King Country late tonight, adding to the worries of the workmen who had toiled to repair the ravages of storms and flooding on Thursday. Ministry of Works, railways, and Taumarunui County Council staff had toiled throughout the day in an effort to repair communications. The position late tonight was:—

The main trunk railway was open o traffic at reduced speeds round the area which had subsided at Kakahi On the Taumarunui-Te Kuiti highway a Bailey bridge was erected over a 20ft wide washout and was open to traffic at 9 pm. The Taumarunui-Ohura highway was still blocked by slips at Tuhua and likely to remain closed for several days. The Stratford - Okahukura railway was closed by slips and a blocked tunnel It may be cleared in three days.

I Working throughout the : night laying a deviation round a serious wash-out on : the line near Kakahi i gangs of track maintenance ' men had the line open for - traffic at 4J5 a.m. today. I Passengers on the first express from Auckland, nor- ! mally due in Wellington at 7 anu, were only 16 minutes * fete this morning. » Buses waiting at Taumai runui took them to National ■ Park where they boarded another train to «ymttm»* - their journey. The other four expresses . were held up until the line I reooened. i They were running i between three and four hours late.

The Taumarunui - Ohura main highway is likely to be closed for several days because of the slips at Tuhua. A half-mile stretch is strewn with logs and debris, and the road is washed out in several places. It was still under water today at Niho Niho.

Railway staff worked throughout the night on the Stratford-Okahukura line. By 3 p.m. today they had cleared eight slips, with several more still to go. A tunnel, near Okahukura, has a slip at one end and is flooded.

A railway motor jigger is still in the tunnel, which was abandoned by a ganger who saw the floodwaters swirling towards him and ran.