EAST COAST RAILWAY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 16213, 25 August 1923, Page 8

EAST COAST RAILWAY.

WAIHI TO KATIKATI. i

PROGRESS OF THE WORK.

Tho main difficulties confronting the engineers associated with the construction of tho East Coast Main Trunk railway liinj from the Wailii end toward Katikati have now been cverceme, and it will' not be 3ong before' tho work ofi extending the permanent way, a short stretch of which was laid rtcently from the Wailii statical, will be riftimcil (remarks the Auckland i-Jerald). Plateluybig will then ) e pushed on to Athemee without interruption, and some time during the coming year the line shculd be erpiipped w.ith tho necessary rolling sleek an.l opened for traffic.

Good progress is being made with tho Ohiaiemuri river bridge, ti>c coh-ere-to work in connection with which in now well advanced, and should be completed within a month, after which the girders will be put on. The water in the river at the pouit of election reached a depth of 17ft., and in order to put down ihc two piers on the Plains side it wits found necessary to build a. coffer-dam, the construction of which involved the use of 3QO piles, somo tip to 27ft. in length, 8000 cement bags filled with clay. One pier went down 18ft. below river level to reach a foundation safe from scour, while that on the Wailii side had tii bo sunk to a. deoth of 25ft. .

The Manghtoetoe bridge is also well iin hand, and' with its completion in from a month to six weeks from date, the pernmuent way will bo laid to the Adaum street bridge, where two pile piera. calling for 10 of which wns 75ft. long and had; fb go down ;"sft. below the ground level to en-:uro a solid foundation —as provided for.

The lino thence on for a distance of £omo three miles has already been trimaned and is in readiness for the' laying of the rails. Once the porinnncaut w/ay is through to Athonrec, all that will remain to bo done will bo to ballast up, and the lisie wtill bo ready for traffic.