AT SOLOMON'S KNOB.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 627, 2 October 1909, Page 6

AT SOLOMON'S KNOB.

\ PROGRESS OF THE NEW. RESERVOIR. • ■'.. . ."., .'AUD.ITS COST,.,' -. '■■ :■■ ' For '.ten months past, Messrs. Martin.OHur. ■reli,. and., Snaddpn, the contractors for. the auxiliary dani- at Saloiiioii's:-iinot,' AVainui-o. i mata—a stand-by, water supply .for Welling, ton , been busily Engaged. •''■■■ The dam wiir.be; of; ferro-cohcrete, and of a new style, consisting of the face-walls, 3ft. in' .thickness*-lessening to'2ft.'. These are: to slope up stream at:an angle of 45 degrees, and will be supported by upright walls; also , of ferfoconcrete, 12ft.-.apart,,. The-.total length,of tho ciauv rail be;s4oft., 107 ft.' of which will be"a .by-wash, .one-third of the v.-ay across; tho extreme height of -the-Structure will be 47ft., b^' it. must-be remembered when considering the amount of concreting .necessitated by the job ;that 12ft. has.to,lie firmly eml)edded invtho solid rock .bottom in order to secure a firm foundation.' All. the rock catting has to be done 'by. ordinary, pick' work'.'as power is not allowed.on-the job. Tho maximum depth of the water, when the dam isfilled will be 50ft., and tho area covered will be a little over-26 acres. ■• The capacity of tho new reservoir will ■bo about 140,000,000 gallons. The precise location of tho new dam is just about half a mile to. the north of the present reservoir. J. ho great strength needed in, the structure is provided in the steel reinforcement of every yard.of .concrete used;, K.'hus been calculated' that, when the reservoir is full- there will be' a pressure of 1035 tons on - : the centre of each vertical wall, and two tons , pressure on' every foot of the foundation. 'It is reassuring to learn,that 'the ferroconcrete floor described above could bear a ten-ton-pressure. .Quito a transformation' has .been effectedsine* the , day the-contractors.'first, went out to view the. scene of their operations. Then •they gazed on high bush-clad hills rising ab-: Tuptly on .either side-of tho modest valley, which they were called upon ..to convert from a condition of natural .attractiveness to one' of more practical things.' They sot to work, felled acres-of bush, cleared all,the incidental ■vegetation,;_ and diverted -.George's .Creek and ,the AVainui ■ River, as their original courses were over, the! line . of.-, the wall, and would, therefore, have interfered with' the laying of the concrete. Now, tho casual wayfarer cn». counters a. spectacle ,of, quite a different nature.- The excavations:havo'nll been dug, and .the concreting is up to some of-tho floor levels, .whioh are in series,, all interspersed with steel reinforcement, varying in depth from U to 20' feet. • Three of the floors -have.>been' laid down, each being 36ft. in width. The precise amount of flooring which has been done already is 5000 square ifcet,- leaving about. 18,000 square-feet: to be done. '.The tower, which is; at present up to floor level; will be carried ,to a.height of 4ft. above, the water level. The area to be covored by:'the.' by-wash has been practicnlly exoavated to the ground .leyei. The contractors intend-completing the flooring to the eastern end of- the. dam, , comprising some GSOO square feet, and then they will com-menco-to,erect.the diaphragm:walls to a height of 18ft. above the floor.--'-After that is done' the decking and sloping will be undertaken.,' Then the wall will go up,to its full height; and the decking will be completed. ,-:it has been necessary to wait for good weather before com- , mencing operation's at the western side,of the river, so that they will have less water to-con-tend with. ■ .- : ■' .- ' -. > '

It-is-'expected that by.' ChristmasV' time the wall will have risen .to a considerable height 1 above, the floor, thus assuming ttore: of a , resemblance, to. its destined appearance.' '.'. ■ , On Solomon's Knob and on' the hills on : the opposite side of.the river; high -Tjenches." a« they are called,;have been,cut "out,\and- be-' twocn these is rope (650 f t, in length) for the "flying fox", over fte gully, 60ft, or.7oft. below, for the-purpose'of lifting stone for tno cement orusher, and' putting the roonorete in position.-By-means ; of trollies on rails, .the contrivance, moves sideways; 'thjis to be lifted, and dropped over a fairly widearea'on and aronnd the con:orete,wall..; -M ■ '.-;•■:■'.: .■'.',.' ! very.fortunate in one respect.. The bed oftheriver.aiid;most of .the adjacent land-contains' very; largo isupplies" of gravel and boulders' for concrete.making. - The sand is' also crushed 'on-ithV 'job , . Sdmo'' diffi-■ oulty-was encountered',in-regard.'tO'Sijppjies' of sand, but eventually; arrangements were made™ and it is now carted-.for avmile•or'-two, , 'and transported to the crusher.'on'.tho , firm's:train-' 1 line, -.whioh .has been ; laid down for the speedy carriage, of- material., ;The' daily output fronv -We.W'.^.r.-i'ijvery'large/f'rThe''record'number! .■ofiboies;;of out- ,in one day ::! Ah ißb'tfofWe 6f;fhe 'Undertaking may be , information.- The total Quantity of steelrequired • onrtho. job is'"lso'ton's, and of • this" amount 20 tons have been used. 'About 1500 cubicyards of orncrete have been piit-in; and/'tHe quantity of eaTth excavated is about. 7500 tons , Ihenuinber of-men at ; present i employed on tho job is'about «. The contract price was in the neighbourhood of £48,000.--'