ELIMINATING CROSSINGS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 131, 30 November 1936, Page 10

ELIMINATING CROSSINGS

The elimination of level crossings on the New Plymouth-Wellington highway is proceeding apace. Work is in progress on crossings at Normanby and Mokoia, which are recognised as the most dangerous of the numerous crossings in Taranaki, states a New Plymouth correspondent. The overhead bridge being erected at Normanby embodies several novel features, and will be one of the largest of its kind in the Dominion. The fact that the crossing is on level land has increased the difficulty. The construction of the bridge at Mokoia will be much more simple, because the railway line is in a cutting 30ft deep. There also a considerable deviation and straightening of the highway is involved. The work at Normanby is being interrupted by the passing of trains, eight trains in the morning and seven in the afternoon each necessitating the dismantling of part of the staging. A large amount of earthwork is required for the approaches and the bridge will probably not be completed until the end of the summer. The Mokoia Bridge and deviation, however, should be open to traffic by the end of January. Two other crossings near Tariki are being eliminated by an extensive deviation of the highway.