EASTERN SUBURBS TUNNEL

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 124, 19 February 1929, Page 12

EASTERN SUBURBS TUNNEL

IS THE ESTIMATE TOO HIGH? “If I got a chance to do the job for £lOl,OOO, I’d jump at it, and I’d make more money that 1 do from Parliament, said Mr. R; Semple, M.P., in an address before the Hataitai Electors Association last night, when the eastern suburbs tunnel was under consideration, Two other member of the City Council, Messrs. H. A. Huggins and IV. J..Gaudin, were also present and addressed the Mr. Semple traced the history of the tunnel scheme. The tatepdyers, he said, had approved of the raising of £101,001) for the work as far back as IJ2O, and since then, successive mayors, although promising to do the job, had shelved it, and it was recently proposed to abandon the authority which had been given, and ask for £270,000. He challenged the Mayor and councillors to come before the public and to justify their tactics. He said that the £25,000 estimated for tramways was not wanted. A traffic tunnel was the only thing required. lhe time which the work would take according to the City Engineer was three years, but if ho (the speaker) could not get a gang together that would put it through in two years, he would “do the disappearing tl In’ reply to a question, Mr. Semple stated that the council had never ca led tenders to see how much the complete work would coat, ■ ... Mr. Huggins intimated that it would be proposed lit the next council meeting that tenders be called. Mr. Gaudin supported the statements made by Mr. Semple, and said that he had been quoted £2OOO per chain tor boring a tunnel, similar but slightly smaller, and if that were doubled, the cost would be £4OOO, as against the £5,400 set out by the City Engineer. . Mr. Huggins said that the Engineer had taken the estimate of the Commission of Engineers, £150,024, and added fifteen per cent, to it, instead of the 10 per cent, which it was customary to add in order to provide for contingencies. The councillors were thanked for their addresses.