Road tunnel control ‘never better’

Press, 19 June 1979, Page 6

Road tunnel control ‘never better’

Traffic control in the Christchurch-Lyttelton road tunnel had never been better than now, the Ministry of Works officer in charge of the tunnel (Mr L. E. Olliver) has told the Lyttelton Borough Council. The Town Cleck of Lyttelton (Mr D. A. Hillier) told the council last evening that he had discussed conditions in the tunnel with Mr Olliver, the former general manager of the Road Tunnel Authority. Cr S. Edwards said that the tunnel control had deteriorated and the council should express its concern before there was a fatality. “There are various types of incidents happening now which have never occurred before, and we should ask whether the regulations are being applied,” she said. Mr Hillier replied that Mr Olliver was satisfied and had remarked that the control now had never been bettered in the tunnel’s history. Cr W. S. Tredinnick called

on Cr Edwards to cite the incidents. “I go through there six to eight times a week and 1 have not noticed anything,” he said. Cr Edwards said that she had been overtaken by a taxi in the tunnel, and another time a heavy articulated truck had passed her. She had seen ‘‘assemblies of motor-cyclists” the full length of the tunnel and she had heard instances of children walking through carrying fishing rods. Fire extinguishers had also been taken. The Mayor of Lyttelton | (Mr M. E. Foster) did not agree that the council should (express concern. Persons I noticing incidents should report them to the Ministry of Transport.

Mr Hillier said there were more serious problems occurring in the tunnel, and being missed, than children walking through with fishing rods.

Kocks taken Lyttelton ratepayers were losing money at the hands of a new type of “rock hound” never seen before in the borough, Mr Foster said. The borough council intends to prosecute anybody illegally taking rocks from the Evans Pass blasting. The chairman of the works committee (Cr G. C. Adams) said some persons were helping themselves to rocks from stockpiles formed for work at Diamond Harbour and other parts of the borough. If it continued ratepayers would have to pay more rates, he said. Warning given Mr Foster gave a warning about giving donations to door-to-door collectors for the Telethon. “There will be no authorised door-to-door collections in the borough," he said.