EAST COAST RAILWAY.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17365, 29 March 1928, Page 8

EAST COAST RAILWAY.

OPENED YESTERDAY.

WAIHI LINKED WITH TAURANGA. CONTRACTORS' DIFFCULTIES. •Great, difficulties were encountered by Armstrong, Whitworth and Co. in the construction of tho 18 miles of railway from Katikati to Te Puna, which were officially opened yesterday. The contract price was £4*01,000, and the job was to be finished in three years from the date the contract, was signed. March. 1024. The fact that an additional year was required can be attributed to the unstable formation of the country traversed, admittedly the worst, on Ihe whole line, Waihi-Tau-ranga. Subsidences of the cmbankments caused by soft foundations were a frequent occurrence. Tho delay in completion of the contend and the extra expense involved coup'ed with the trouble experienced at, the powerhouse site in connection with the Arapuni contract, have proved a disastrous experience for the company in New Zealand.

The first sod on the contract was turned by Mr Coatee on November 8, 1924, and the work was pushed on with considerable expedition under the direction of the company's agent, Major T. A. Ghoate. Trouble, however, soon developed. Where the route traverses the Manpawhai tidal estuary the swamps sank as the material for the embankments was deposited on them, and extra material had to be excavated to replace that which disappeared into the sea pug. The Wainui and Tahawai swamps proved particularly troublesome. Thousands of tons of material deposited on the surface subsided and held up the construction of the bridge arross the Waihou River. In July last year came the floods, washing great quantities of material away and involving the company jn additional trouble and expense to repair the damage. Swamp Eighty Feet Deep. Trouble due to subsidence also occurred in connection with the erection of the bridges, of which no fewer than 15 major structures occur in the 18 miles composing the section, as well as many large culverts and over a score of overbridges. The additional time and labour expended in securing the foundation in soft material added greatly to the anxieties of the job, while in the cuttings fascining had to be resorted to before the men could obtain a footing in the unstable pipeclay. A start on several of the bridges, particularly the "Wainui Bridge, was hold up on account of the approach banks subsiding. At the Wainui the swamp was found to be 80ft deep, and piles 110 ft in length were required to reach a permanent foundation. Add to this the shocking access provided by the bar! clay roads, which rendered carriage of supplies and material overland impossible, and sufficient, reasons will be found to account for the completion of the contract a year later than was anticipated.' In winter earriaec by water was the only practicable means of taking supplies out from Tauranga.

The opening ceremony actually marks the completion of the company's contract, and the official handing over of the section to the Public Works Department. Waihi will thus be linked by rail with Tauranga, a distance of 42 miles, for the first time, and will connect with Taneatua by the 59 miles of railway already in running order.