Biggest in Southern Hemisphere

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 276, 21 November 1936, Page 4

Biggest in Southern Hemisphere

MOHAKA RAILWAY BRIDGE. ONE-THIRD COMPLETED. Per Press Association. HASTINGS, Last Night. New Zealand’s migntiest bridge, that over the MohaKa river on the East Coast railway line, is nearly one-third finished and is expected to be completed by next June. At the deepest part the bottom of the gorge is 310 feet below the level of the railway line, and from bank to hank the distance is 900 feet. When it is completed tne viaduct will be, discounting tne Sydney Harbour bridge, the Diggest railway trestle in the Southern Hemisphere. The total weight of steel to be used is between 1700 and 1800 tons, of which 540 tons have already been erected, 21,000 of the 90,000 rivets required, being used in the process. At present the girders upon which tne railway line will be laid span two towers on the Napier side of the gorge. The lower, nearest the nann, is 40 feet high, the next 200 feet and the next tower to grow, one of the two taliest, will be 310 feet from the river level to rail level. About 50 men are actually engaged in the bridge bidding, but a further 20 are engaged in such tasks as clearing the line and over hauling steel.