Tailrace Tunnel Now 450ft Long

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30396, 21 March 1964, Page 3

Tailrace Tunnel Now 450ft Long

(New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, March 20. Substantial “footage” is now being made on the Manapouri power scheme tailrace tunnel at Doubtful Sound’s Deep Cove and on the road access tunnel to the site of the underground powerhouse at Lake Manapouri’s West Arm.

This morning Utah-William-son-Burnett tunnellers were 450 ft in on the 30,000 ft tailrace drive, said Mr M. Mirsky, engineer with Bechtel Pacific Corporation, the Government’s consultants for the power scheme. Further work must be done before concrete lining could begin and tunnelling must lontinue some hundreds ol "eet before use of the mail ‘umbo” drilling rig, whicl >vould be mounted on rail: that would also carry muck ing trucks. However, equip ment was on the site, am more was arriving frequently At present, Utah-William son-Burnett, responsible alsi for the Wilmot Pass road, wa: working about 350 men. Mor rison-Downer-Fletcher, * the West Arm road access tunnel contractors, had up to 125 men. The West Arm tunnel was

50ft in this morning, said Mr Mirsky. There was not much more work to be done on the camp. A start had not yet been made on a proposed small tunnel from the foot of the existing vertical 700 ft exploratory shaft that went down to the powerhouse site. Meanwhile, the shaft was >eing kept free of water.