HARBOUR BRIDGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 749, 23 August 1929, Page 11

HARBOUR BRIDGE

BORINGS TO COMMENCE SOON EARLY INVESTIGATION (The SUN’S Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON. Today. An assurance that borings as a preliminary to an investigation of the Auckland Harbour Bridge project would immediately be proceeded with and would be completed in a month cr six weeks, according to the weather, was given to an Auckland deputation from the Bridge Association that waited cn the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, yesterday. r J'HE deputation, which consisted of Mr. R. H. Greville, president. Mr. Stanley Jones and Mr. F. E. Moore, expressed appreciation of the Government’s action in deciding to set up a commission to investigate the project. Preliminary details were discussed and the representations will later be considered by Cabinet. It is hoped to announce the personnel of the commission within a week. PERSONNEL SUGGESTED The deputation suggested the names of Mr. Justice Blair, as chairman, and Mr. J. W. Mawson, director of town planning, Mr. Ebenezer Allan, of Buckland, as Government representative, and a technical officer of the Public Works Department. The deputation, while urging that the personnel should be announced at an early date, asked that the sittings should not commence until borings at selected points had been taken, with a view to completing the case the Bridge Association intended to present. Mr. Greville said that, in view of the increase in the grant from £SOO to £I,OOO, it would De possible to take more complete borings. It was suggested a sum of £SOO should be spent in borings in the harbour bed along the line between the western corner of St. Mary’s Bay reclamation to the middle of Shoal Bay, and slightly west of that line. That wopld leave £SOO to be spent on further investigation if the locality proved to be most suitable. The taking of borings would enable the association to place before the commission complete sets of estimates and figures. Mr. P. W. Furkert, engiueer-in-ehief of the Public Works Department, thought that possibly the Harbour Board or City Council would undertake to do the borings. Mr. Greville said the Harbour Board was not prepared to act in that capacity, although a year ago it had expressed its willingness to do so. He said that most of the members of the board were not opposed to the bridge, nine out of 15 members having signed a pledge to support the project. COST OF COMMISSION Mr. Greville said the association would be glad to have the co-operation of the district engineer of the Public Works Department. The association desired to present as much expert evidence as possible. Some statistical detail was being obtained in Canada and the United States, and it was possible one or two expert witnesses would be brought from Sydney. For that reason it was desired that the commission should not open its sittings for, say, six weeks. The Minister of Health, the Hon. A. J. Stallworthy, remarked that bringing witnesses from abroad would be fairly expensive. Mr. Greville: The association wants to keep the expenditure within reasonable bounds. It was understood that the Government would pay the expenses of the commission. The Minister thought, however, that it was intended that such expense should be borne out of the grant of £I,OOO placed on the estimates this year. Mr. Furkert added his opinion that the Government's undertaking to bear the cost of the commission meant only the salaries and expenses of the commissioners and not all the incidentals. Although he had not understood that to be the position, Mr. Greville said the great bulk of the evidence would be voluntary.