MANY PUBLIC WORKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22444, 13 June 1936, Page 14

MANY PUBLIC WORKS

DEVELOPING NAPIER AREAB HARBOUR AND RAILWAY [by telecbaph—OW>' corkespondent] NAPIER, Friday The Napier harbour extension!!, bridge construction, river diversion, aerodrome improvements, East Coast railway reinstatement and Ahuriiri Lagoon reclamation, are major public works progressing in the districts surrounding Napier. Thousands of pounds and a large number of workmen are involved in these schemes. The harbour extension work on the seaward mole is progressing steadily. Concrete blocks are being dumped below sea level and dredging near the new wharf sites is well on the way to completion. A start has been made with the erection of the first new wharf.

At Waitangi one traffic bridge has been completed, another is in courise of erection, and the foundations of the railway bridge are completed. Tenders are being called for the erection of a new railway bridge close by to span the river at Waitangi. Flood prevention work has been done to the flat area south of Napier. Although the diversion of the Tutaekuri River was completed a week ago workmen are still consolidating the banks. A start will be made shortly with the diversion of the Ngaruroro River, which represents the second and final stage in this undertaking. The Napier airport is being levelled and one of the results will be the better draining of rainwater from the surface. When this is completed Napier will be equipped with one of the best aerodromes in the Dominion.

.Remarkable engineering is the predominant feature of the reclamation of the' Ahuriri Lagoon area of 7500 acres. This land was the inner harbour sea bed before 1931. When the earthquake raised it high and dry it gave to Napier an area with vast potentialities. Its reclamation has progressed steadily in the past two years and alx-eady parts have been ploughed and permanent roadways constructed. A work which is claiming a great deal of public interest is the reinstatement of the East Coast railway line. Over 100 men are working between Napier and Waipunga, a length of 15 miles. Ballast trains are already using this section of line, and the workmen are pushing steadily northward.