NEARLY FINISHED

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 144, 14 March 1931, Page 9

NEARLY FINISHED

Mount Victoria Tunnel A BIG WORK The new tunnel through Mt. Victoria may be considered to be one of the great accomplishments of the financial year 1930-31. This work, which is to give practically level access to Hataitai nnd Kilbirnie and the eastern suburbs to general, as well as tramway traffic, was com menced by the Hansford and Mills Construction Company in December, 1929, and the term of the contract does not ex pire until the end.of June next. So ex pcditiously has the work boon accomplished, however —and it is the biggest work of. its kind yet done iu Wellington—that the contractors will conclude their work at the end of the present month. In the meantime there is only a little finishing work to be done. Elevated Foothpath. The final length of the elevated footpath—a stout job in reinforced concreteon the western section is being finished this week-end. When that is done there onlv remains a brief section of the foolpath in the centre of the tunnel to complete its full length. With that exception it is now possible to walk right through the tunnel along this footpath, though it is not advisable to do so as it is not very well lighted and there is still a deal of litter about the deck. Beneath this elevated footpath is a space sft. 9in. by 6ft., which will be reserved for air and water mains and eleetrie cables, while high overhead in the arch of the ceiling is a huge air duct by which the foul air and petrol fumes will be carried along to one or other of the Btt. ventilating shafts which descend from the sides of Mt. Victoria straight down to the tunnel. These shafts are to be provided with big fans and an electrical equipment to work them when the occasion demands. The termination of the work of the contractors does not finish the tunnel. The corporation will then have to provide an adequate drain to take the seepage water. At the present time there is a fairly wet section in the centre of the tunnel, here and there developing into tiny but continuous streams . of water, which are subterranean springs which have been tapped by the excavators. These still continue to flow, although the arch of the tunnel is wholly concreted in, and will have to be drained off before the floor of the tunnel is paved. Traffic Possibilities.

Between the two walls of the tunnel on the ground level there is a space ot 29ft. Taking sft. 9in. off that for the elevated pedestrian corridor, a space 23ft. 3in. in breadth is left for the double tramway tracks and roadway. This means that the double tramway tracks will be the roadway. As it is to be fairly concluded that the trams will eventually if not immediately run through the tunnel, it is equally obvious that motorists will uot as a general thi/ig be able to “step on it” while going through, as they very often will have to follow tramcars ahead of them. It is conceivable that the two lines of traffic will ‘on some occasions present a queer sight, with motor-cars, lorries and horse-drawn vehicles interspersed between tramcars, when the pace set will be "that of the slowest vehicle in tie procession. Under such circumstances, with halt’ the cars in second gear,'it can be imagined that the air in the tunnel is likely to become vitiated in a short space of time, hence the necessity for the provision for fresh air being pumped in and the foul air expelled. At the eastern end the plasterers will practically finish to-day. The rest of the contractors’ work consists of the completion of the footpath, the rounding off and cementing of the face above the eastern portal, and the rounding off of a knob at the beginning of the new college road in Paterson Street. The approach roads on both sides of the hill have been practically completed. The sides have been paved in bitumen and the central section, reserved for tram tracks in the future, has been sealed over for the present, making a full-width seal for the whole of both roads, on a grade delightful for motorists. It is unlikely that the tunnel will be ready for general traffic for another three months.