HOMER TUNNEL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23118, 18 February 1937, Page 10

HOMER TUNNEL

PROGRESS OF THE WORK THE MINISTER DISSATISFIED NEW MACHINERY TO BE INSTALLED (From Our Special Reporter) TE ANAU, Feb. 17. “Dissatisfaction with the progress of 'the work on the Homer tunnel was expressed by the Minister of Public Works (Mr R. Semple) when he visited the site of the tunnel to-day. The Minister made it clear that he did not blame the men. but the work was proceeding top slowly and was costing twice as much as it should. He stated that he intended to order more suitable machinery so that satisfactory progress could be made. “ I am not satisfied with the progress of the work on the tunnel,” Mr Semple §aid. “I do not blame anybody for that, but it is costing too much. It is probbable that the machines being used are faulty and for that reason I am ordering new machinery which will be able to cope with this class of work. When I do that I will expect better returns than I am getting at present. “When the modern machines I have in mind are installed I shall, if necessary, bring an expert from the country where they are made to teach the men how to use them.” The Minister added: I want every man in that tunnel to earn 30s a day and more if he can. It is my job to give the men on public works the facilities to do their work, and I shall expect them to do it. The Minister said that a certain form of shovel had been tried on the work of hauling away the excavated rock, but owing to the exti’aordinary circumstances prevailing in the tunnel it had been found impossible for it to operate efficiently. That had impeded the progress of the work a good deal, but he hoped that when modern machinery was installed the tunnelling would go ahead at a satisfactory pace. The length of the tunnel when finished will be just on three-quarters of a mile, and up to the present time it has been excavated to a distance of 350 feet. It is approximately 18 months since a start was made on the approach cutting to the tunnel, which involved the clearing away of a large quantity of loose material as well as the establishment of a power plant before the actual drilling was commenced. The greatest difficulty facing the engineers and the men on the job is not the drilling itself but the hauling away of the rock which is displaced. The tunnel runs on a steep down grade of one in 10. which necessarily increases the difficulty of this' work, and so far the machines used have not been able to haul away the rock satisfactorily. The Minister, who has an intimate knowledge of tunnelling, has been convinced bv his personal insnection that more modern eouinmf'nt is necessary, and when this is installed better results shduld be obtained.