TAITA GORGE ROAD

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 187, 6 May 1931, Page 6

TAITA GORGE ROAD

Work to Commence To-day

CONSTRUCTING GABIONS Work is to commence this morning on the Talta Gorge Road scour. Yesterday an inspection of the locality was made by one of Public Works engineers, and the foreman who will be in charge of the gang of men Who will be engaged on the job. The department will place as large a gang as possible on the work, which is estimated to last from two to three months. . ... The intention is to build the bank of the river up and strengthen it by means of gabions. These are “blocks” made by encasing heavy boulders in stout wirenetting, each block being eight feet long, two feet wide and two feet deep. It will be necessary to level the bed of the stream for the whole length of the scour, so that the bottom gabions will obtain a solid hold on the bed of the river. The bottom gabions will go. well out into the stream and each succeeding layer will Work'gradually narrower to the required height. When completed it will be absolutely Impossible for any flood to have any weakening effect on the bank at that point. It is probable also that willows will be planted in among the gabions as they afford a further protection. Because of the thousands of tons of boulders brought down and deposited on the Manor Park golf lihks the river opposite the point of the road scour Is greatly restricted. It .is quite possible that if, when the reading work Is completed, another flood should occur the tendency would be for a great quantity of the boulders near the Manor Park bank to be shifted. It Is considered that the gang wul work in three divisions, one at each e of the scour and one in the middle. All the necessary tools were brought to the job yesterday.