NEW RAILWAY STATION.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 233, 1 October 1931, Page 5

NEW RAILWAY STATION.

Foundations Solid, Despite Minor Cracks. (Special to the “ Star.”) AUCKLAND, October 1. Cracks have appeared in some of the rooms at the new railway station, and small fissures are to be seen on the various platforms. These have been noticed by train travellers, some of whom have concluded that the foundations of the station building are affected. The station stands on reclaimed, or “made" ground. Exhaustive tests have been made by the authorities, and it is officially stated that there is no cause for alarm. The foundations are solid, and the whole of the structure, and its platforms and approaches, are quite stable. It was explained to a reporter that those responsible for the construction of any reinforced steel and concrete building always make adequate provision for expansion and contraction, but in large structures, although the main supports and walls invariably are perfectly solid in construction, certain cracks are bound to appear in the outer coverings as the new building begins to “ settle ”. This, it is stated, is a common circumstance, as anyone will notice who occupies a new house, and the new Auckland railway station is not singular in that respect. Hence the cracks in certain rooms, of which not much notice is being taken, because the building itself is structurally quite sound. The cracks on the platform were, it is learned, quite expected, and adequate provision was made to cope with them. The cracks have not by any means been as extensive as expected. They are easily counteracted.