WORKS IN HAND

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 32, 7 February 1930, Page 11

WORKS IN HAND

CITY AND SUBURBS

PROGRESS IN TUNNEL

SOME BIG- JOBS

There is very considerable activity, chiefly in roading and access improvement work, in the city and suburbs nt present, a number of the works in hand or to be embarked upon this month being in or above tho £20,000 (•lass. These- and the many smaller jobs arc set out in ;i schedule- which is prepared by tho heads, of departments every three weeks fov circulation among other departments in order that the whole service; may bo acquainted, with all proposals and works under way and that each department may lay its plans for co-ordination accordingly. Tho full list is too long for publication, but the main items are certainly of general interest.

In the central area the- outstanding works arc the widening nml regrading of Sydney street, tunnel works, improvement and paving on the Wadestown and Karori access roads, various paving jobs, and the erection of the new milk station.

The Sydney street cut is now far on towards..completion, the road being taken now to the new level and unifovm grade from Tinakori road well (lows towards the point where, eventually, a sliort-cut road will lye driven through the north-eastern : corner of the cemetery to the head of Bowori street. Since the steam shovel was made available on this job—after it had finished up the heavy excavation for tlie eastern approach to the Mount Victoria tunnel —progress at Sydney street has been very much more rapid, though naturally not so large a number of men was required on the job. The estimated cost of the completed cut is £20,000, and the cost as at Ist February is shown at £12,976, ao that there is still a considerable sum in hand. The' full benefit of this road improvement, one of the biggest loading jobs undertaken" for a good many years, will not, of course, bo reaped until the new road through the' cemetery is opened, nor until then will it be of any avail regards a quicker tramway route to Karori.

Further towards Karori widening work is still in hand at several points. The high concrete retaining wall between Crieff street and the Eigi has been pushed flhead during the last few weeks without further trouble as regards falls from the cliff face, and the danger of more complications of that kind is probably over, but the. cost of the .finished job is likely to be well above the estimate.' The contractor for the Kelburn viaduct is still liusy with the- very heavy concrete foundation work for the western pier, and so far there- is nothing much to see above ground level. This is a £21,000 job, and may take a full year to complete. Near at hand several bad corners have been tackled, and the banks substantially cut back. The spoil is being used for widening at other points, such as opposite the Eigi and on the other side of the Karori tunnel.- Up to date, widening, footpath, And ■ wall building work have cost £6816, the retaining wall being in itself a £3360 job. Wadestowri widening work is shown as having cost £3473 to tlio beginning of the month, and the paving to date £4171, out of (he-estimated- cost of the■ completed paving job-of £7722. THE MOUNT VICTORIA TUNNEL. The. cost of the Patterson street approach to the Mount Victoria tunnel has amounted to £9924, somewhat in excess of the estimate of £9.130, and the work is not fully completed. On the other side, however, the expenditure to date, £5455, is well below the estimate of £7500, but there is a good deal more to be done in the making of the new length of roadway from Moxham avenue to -the- tunnel portal. Good progress is being made with the driving of the tunnel itself by the contractors, Messrs. Hansford and Mills. ' The tunnellers arc working round the clock in three shifts. On the.Hataitai side the preliminary drive has penetrated about 240 feet, and on the city side the' men are in about 50 or 60 feet. The system which is being followed is to drive two parallel boxes from either end, large onough to take tracks and electric haulers. The bores will bo carried right through, and the central block" will then be attacked from various points and rapidly removed. Tram tracks through the tunnel, and also the diagonal approach road from Dufferin street t' Patterson street, are not at present provided for, and tho new approach roadi'on tho Hataitai side, which will run along the edge of the Town Bolt, parallel to Moxham avenue, to .Wellington road, is a development, as' the Aceeas Commission recommended and the council agreed, for the future, probably some years ahead. An article dealing with the progress being made with the new milk station appeared in f Tho Post" a few days ago. Tor various reasons, chiefly the bad weather of the past throe or four months, the building is not so far advanced as was anticipated, and there havo been unavoidable delays in connection with the design, layout, and ordering of plant from Great Britain and other overseas manufacturers. As the council .allowed a very fair margin of time, however, no great difficulties are anticipated in having the station completed in time to allow a changeover from tho old Dixon street station during the colder months of this year. So far £18,560 has been paid out by the council on this work, the full estimated cost of which is £79,309. PAVING AND SEALING. There is a fair programme of paving and sealing work in hand or ahead for this summer and autumn, the main items (estimated costs) shown on this month's schedule being:—Lang street and Park street (£19,010), Arthur street (£5148), Trent street (£1340), Tlnakori road (£4221, cost to dato), and Waterloo quay (£7796). Surface sealing 'items are:—Derwent street (£1072), Queen's drive <(£1056), Cashmere avenue (£2180), Agra crescent (£484), and Braithwaite street (£351). A sum of £500 ■was made availablo for tarring and sanding wood-blocks, of which £224 had been spent at the beginning of the month. A big job which is just about completed is-tho formation of the Eongotai airport; tho work, chiefly tho extending of "the landing area seawards by shifting the beach road near tho beach and also lowering its level, is expected to ibe finished by about tho end of the 'month. The estimate was, under relief 'works loans, £21,900, and the expenditure has been £20,956. The council has power, under the Aviation Encouragement Bill of last session, to raise another £5000 for erection and equipment of hangars, etc. i VARIOUS OTHER WORKS. r There are a great many other smaller, 'but yet important works, including road /widening, street extension formation — for instance, at Donald street, an I ;B.S.A. job—erection, of conveniences at -Evans Bay road (recently completed) and at Ngaio and Khandallah, Nairn street, and the Botanical Gardens, the 'erection of the memorial band rotunda "at Island Bay (almost completed), a ;croquet pavilion at Pirie street, and the usual steady main and underground service work of tho Waterworks and Drainage Department, including the very big job of storm water drainage at Miramar, a contract work.