DIVERSION CUT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 110, 12 May 1939, Page 7

DIVERSION CUT

BIG MACHINE JOB

HUTT RIVER AT BELMONT

That portion of the Hutt River which last year changed its course arid caused serious erosion of the western bank at Belmont, necessitating the shifting of the railway line, is now receiving the attention of the Hutt River Board.

Temporary measures were taken at the time by the Railway Department, wooden groynes being built to fend off the current. The real remedy, however, lies in so guiding the flow of water that it will be kept -away from the high bank which, being composed of alluvial soil, is easily eroded, and to this end an S bend which is the cause of the trouble is being removed by making a diversion cut through a shingle spit. The work is being carried out by one of the modern Public "Works Department machines, a twelveyard carryall scraper. This will make a cut wide and deep enough to take the normal flow of the river and it is hoped that future floods will complete the process. About 10,000 yards of metal has. to be shifted and as the machine will shift about 600 yards a day, the cut should be completed in about three weeks. The charge made by the Public Works Department for machine, driver, and fuel is £12 per day, but' even at this figure the job is estimated to cost only from 4d to 6d per yard as against ls 6d per yard, the lowest offer received from local contractors.

The River Board engineer (Mr. H. Sladden) has been authorised by the board to negotiate with the Railway Department with a view to meeting part of the cost of the work.