SOUTH ISLAND RAILWAY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19777, 3 November 1938, Page 15

SOUTH ISLAND RAILWAY

MAIN THUNK PROGRESS COMPLETION BY 19-11 TUNNELS AND BRIDGES (Per Truss Association.) BLENHEIM, this day. The Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, interviewed on completing an inspection of the South Island Main Trunk railway construction work, expressed satisfaction at the progress being made. He said the line would be completed at approximately the estimated cost by about the time expected, 1941, but this is still contingent on the continued satisfactory progress of the major tunnelling operations on the southern section.

As far as the tunnels on the northern section were concerned, two had already been completed, and all would be finished during the coming year.

The delay which had been occasioned due to lack of the steel required for the big Clarence bridge, 1500 ft. long, had now been overcome to a large extent. A quantity of steel being fabricated at the railway workshops at Wellington was beginning to arrive on the scene. Some experienced steel workers, formerly engaged on the Mohaka viaduct were now employed on the Clarence undertaking. When all the steel landed on the job the bridge would take nine or 10 months to complete. The biggest remaining undertaking, the Amiri tunnel was still making slow progress and the Minister indicated that the completion of the whole line hinged on this task. Mr. Semple said the work would be finished first on the northern section of the linc when the majority of Ihe men engaged there would be transferred south of Kaikoura with the object of bringing about the completion of both sections as nearly simultaneously as possible.