STORM-WATER RELIEF

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 45, 17 November 1936, Page 10

STORM-WATER RELIEF

Progress of Work on New

Culvert

A large number of spectators found entertainment and no little instruction at the eastern end of Courtenay Place yesterday in watching the adverting operations. For nearly a year past gangs have been employed in the building of a culvert in reinforced epnerete, 10 feet in breadth and six feet iu height, which is going to help to solve the storm-water problems of Wellington East and Central. From the harbour front to a point opposite the reserve in Courtenay Place this culvert was built on the spot, and never in the history of Wellington has a drain been so stoutly constructed. It will be a mighty earthquake that will throw that drain out of alignment or crush it. From the point mentioned southward the culvert takes the form of two lines of reinforced concrete pipes, one 6ft. in diameter and the other 4ft. 6in: in diameter. The latter only proceeds south as far as College Street, where it branches off through that street and Jessie Street, and so takes the storm water from the centre of Te Aro flat. The 6ft. culvert continues on through Cambridge Terrace and the Basin Reserve to Adelaide Road to finish about 100 yards south of the Caledonian Hotel, the lowest point of Adelaide Road, where storm water hits caused much damage during recent years.

The big drain lias been laid the full length of Cambridge Terrace, and is now going through the Basin Reserve. There was some delay at the Courtenay Place end, owing to having to tunnel under the tramway lines (four double tracks). That has now been done, and. the final work is to connect the circular pipes with the square built-up culvert, at a point opposite the De Duxe Theatre. That job should be completed this week as far as the 6ft. pipe is concerned. The 4ft. Cin. pipe still has to be laid under the tram-tracks. Although the way is open for the passage of storm water, that has not been possible, as a good deal of work has yet to be done in the open trenches on the floor level, and if the culvert was completely opened, the waters of the harbour would flow as far up Hie drain as Courtenay Place. For this reason the engineers had to dam off the drain at certain points, and, at the same time, pump out the incoming storm water in order to give the men below a chance. The work at the Courtenay Place end of the job should be completed about Christmas time. In the meantime the filled-in trenches ’are the cause of certain unpleasantness in that locality. All day long the gravel and grit which cover the trench spaces are sent flying by heavy motor traffic. It is suggested that these spaces might be temporarily surfaced until the earth has settled, when they could be properly paved.