D.—l.

For the purposes of construction the work has been divided into two main sections —the north end, from Wharanui to the Kahautara River, a distance of 48 m. 70 ch., and the south end, from the Kahautara Bridge to Parnassus, a distance of 29 m. 40 ch. On the north end construction work is almost complete, with the exception of the Blue Slip, to the Clarence Bridge, a length of approximately twenty miles, platelaying and ballasting is in hand, and it is anticipated that it will be available for stock traffic by the end of the year. The Blue Slip, which has been the main obstacle on this length, is becoming well stabilized, and when the additional drainage now in hand has been completed T do not anticipate that it will give a great deal of extra trouble. From the Clarence Bridge to the Kahautara River the whole section is manned and very good progress is being made. The piers of the Clarence Bridge, which will consist of twelve 122 ft. steel-truss spans on caisson foundation, are being constructed under contract and are almost completed, while the steel superstructure is being fabricated ready for erection in the railway workshops. The heaviest section, which is between the Ohau Bluffs and the Hapuka River, and includes all the tunnelling-work on the northern end, will govern the time of completion, and it has been very heavily manned. The greater portion of the tunnel-work is complete, and all cuttings are well under way. The construction of the section between the Hapuka and Kahautara Rivers has been kept back somewhat owing to the necessity for resurveying the route in order to bring the Kaikoura Railway-station closer to the centre of the town. This has been finalized, however, and as the formation is comparatively light on this area there will be no difficulty in completing this portion in time to keep in step with the rest of the construction. On the south end the completion of the Hawkswood Tunnel and the bridging of the Leader and Conway Rivers has opened the way for platelaying and ballasting to proceed as far as Hundalee Station, a distance of approximately eleven and a half miles, and it is hoped to have this section sufficiently far advanced to handle stock traffic by the end of the year, and this will then shorten the distance between railheads by approximately thirty-one miles. Between the Hundalee Station and the Oaro River the main obstacles are the Amuri Bluffs Tunnel and the Okarahia Bridge. Work on Amuri Bluff Tunnel is making good progress on the north end, and on the south end it lias been necessary to adopt a specially reinforced section to cope with the very difficult and unstable country which has to be passed through before reaching the more solid country through which the main tunnel is being driven. Preliminary work on the Okarahia Bridge is in hand, and adjacent cuttings, culverts, &c., will be completed in ample time to synchronize with the completion of the bridge and tunnel. On the section between the Oaro and Kahautara Rivers we have seven miles and a half of extremely difficult country; high precipitous bluffs come right down to high-water mark, and consequently we have a series of short tunnels through the points with stretches of line across the various embayments between them, the latter necessitating heavy protection works on the seaward faces. A further complication is caused by the necessity of providing for the main highway alongside the railway, and numerous deviations of the highway have also to be constructed. A heavy concentration of men and plant has been brought to bear on this section, most of the tunnels are being opened up, and a large quarry is supplying stone for the sea-protection work. At the same time it will probably be necessary to cast massive concrete blocks to withstand the heavy wave-stroke on the more exposed portions. West/port Inangahua Railway. —This railway, which will link up the Westport section with the main-line system of the South Island is twenty-seven and three- quarter miles long, of which nine miles between Westport and Cascade Creek was operating before constructional activities were renewed last year. The gap between the railheads is eighteen and a half miles, and the construction work involved comprises extensive rock cuttings, tunnels, and bridges. The average number of men employed during the year was 330, this being the maximum number that can be usefully employed, as the bulk of the earthwork is completed. The remaining work is largely the erection, of bridges and culverts and the laying of the permanent-way. The major work still to be done is the construction of twelve larse bridges, one hundred, and seventy culverts, and two short tunnels.

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