HAAST PASS HIGHWAY

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 November 1939, Page 14

HAAST PASS HIGHWAY

PROGRESS OF THE WORK HOKITIKA, November 1. Between 60 and 70 miles of the South Westland, highway, connecting Otago and Westland over the Haast pass, the lowest- gap in the whole of the Southern Alps, have yet to be built. All the remaining construction is on the western side of the Alps and steady progress is being made with the work. The road is finished and handed over to the Main Highways Board as far south as the Karangarua river, where a bridge of the suspension type, and 425 feet long will be erected shortly. Beyond the Kaiangarau river to Bruce Bay, the road is almost finished, and the men are working towards the Paringa river, the present terminus for vehicle traffic. The contractor is now building the 1400 feet long Paringa bridge and gangs of men are working ahead on a section of heavy reading en route to Paringa lake, 42 miles from Weheka. This is as far as the work has proceeded on the southward drive. A number of bridges have to be built beyond Paringa lake, and when the road is advanced to that point, erection will begin. • Along the stretch of modern highway opened up between Weheka and Paringa numerous bridges have been built in first-class materials. Three suspension bridges—at the Fox, the Cook, and the Karangarua, are features of the new highway. Their type was adopted because it was difficult, in fact well nigh impossible to put piers in these rivers, which are very swift rivers and carry gigantic boulders and blocks of ice from the glaciers. To, attempt to have built bridges on piers would have been courting disaster. The Jackson’s Bay section of the road presents several, big. problems in bridging. The Rope Construction Company has secured a contract to build bridges over the Okuru, Turnbull, and Waiototo rivers. Pile-driving is now being done on the first two jobs. Between the Okuru and Turnbull rivers Public Works Department employees are forming and metalling the road to modern standards. This will provide a safe highway running through long stretches of beautiful forest, and occasionally traversing the sea coast. The longest bridge to be built is that over the Haast. It will be half a mile long; but the Minister for Public Works (Mr. Semple) said to-day that it was not proposed to put the work in hand until the steel shortage eases. So far work on the building of the road up the Haast has not begun; but on the western side of the Haast pass the road will be easy of construction, and can be delayed until the very difficult section near the pass has been built by workmen from the Otago side. They have built the road three miles down the western route from the pass.