No early start on viaduct

Press, 22 February 1979, Page 7

No early start on viaduct

PA Palmerston North Work on the new main railway viaduct over the Rangitikei River, near Mangaweka, was unlikely to resume before late this year, Mr C. Durning, the administrative officer for the firm of contractors, Codelfa Cogefar (N.Z.), Ltd," has said.

Speaking from the company’s headquarters at Turangi, Mr Dqrning said reports that “Railways Department contractors will soon resume work on the south Rangitikei rail viaduct’’ might be misleading. In May, 1975, a steel launching girder at the viaduct site collapsed throwing 200 tonnes of steel and concrete into the Rangitikei River, 60 metres below.

Mr Durning said that since then no work had been done on the viaduct and it was incorrect to say, as had been reported, that work had resummed in January last year and that it had been stopped. Mr Durning also said that Auckland University technicians had not, to his knowledge, made tests on

the "new girder” as had been reported. He said that steel for the new girder was only in the process of being ordered. When completed the new girder would be similar in design to the one which had collapsed, though there would be some modifications to stress bars.

Mr Durning said the job was expected to take between seven and 11 months to complete once it was started again, but at this stage Codelfa Cogefar had no men on the site, and negotiations were still taking place between the company and the Railways Department. Recently a S3.IM contract was awarded to the New Zealand firm of Wilkins and Davies, Ltd, to build the north Rangitikei and Kawhatau bridges at the rail deviation. These bridges are part of the B.skm deviation, which will eliminate a difficult, troublesome section of tract between Mangaweka and Utiku, south of Taihape, on the busy North Island main trunk line.