Vehicle Cleans Tunnel

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31279, 27 January 1967, Page 9

Vehicle Cleans Tunnel

A’ VERSATILE vehicle built in Wellington recently has the unusual ability of being able to wash the interior of Mount Victoria road tunnel, which connects the eastern suburbs, including Wellington airport, with the city.

Basically, the vehicle is a street-spraying unit built on a seven-ton truck chassis. The tank holds 1000 gallons of water, and there is a separate tank of 45 gallons of detergent which mixes into the street wash, giving an all-up , liquid load of almost five tons. The spraying force comes from a centrifugal pump driven by a separate diesel motor. The tunnel-cleaning device is a movable side-mounted boom which, from the horizontal carrying position, is swung into a vertical position when the vehicle changes from street to tunnel cleaning. The boom has nine nozzles which direct powerful jets of detergent-charged water on to the tunnel wall to remove traffic film and exhaust

grime. For its street cleaning role, the vehicle has two frontmounted nozzles which direct water ahead and there are also side flushers, which clean street channels. Special valves are incorporated so the vehicle can be used as a fire-fighting appliance in an emergency. Many of the principles embodied in the vehicle are unique in New Zealand. Its design and specifications were evolved by Messrs R. Stent and W. Killoch of the Wellington City Engineer’s department, and it was built by Standard Motor Bodies Ltd.