AT LOW COST

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 248, 31 July 1937, Page 5

AT LOW COST

THE WORK AT KLONDYKE. EXCAVATING AT 6fd A YARD. MEN ENCOUNTER SEVERE CONDITIONS BIG TRACTORS FROZEN IN. Working in severe winter conditions, the men engaged on the diversion section of the Public Works Department’s £1,000,000 irrigation scheme for the Ashburton County are making very good progress with the excavations, and the engineers in charge of the scheme are more than satisfied' with what has already been done. Had the excavation work been turned over to manual labour as has been done in the past, it would have been a very different story, but the Department recognises tha.t a modern undertaking of this kind demands modern methods. To this end machinery has been employed, and new items are being added at intervals. Even with the progress that has been made, there has been some hold-up because all the machines required have not yet come

to hand from America, the country of origin of all the mechanical contrivances that are being used at Klondylce and Ruapuna. The latest addition is a group of four huge tip waggons. These have a capacity of 10 cubic yards and were attached to some of the diesel tractors on Wednesday for a try-out. Made of very heavy steel .plates, the waggons run on caterpillar wheels. They are the largest thing of their kind yet to reach New Zealand, and it will not be long before they are in use. They may be tipped to either side, and will provide a remarkably rapid means }f handling spoil on some sections of the work.

They will be used with tractors in conjunction with' the elevating graders and the diesel-powered Speeder shovels which will be put to work at an early date. These shovels will be used to load the waggons direct from thb excavations, and will further hasten the progress of the work. Savings in Costs. Careful attention is being paid vo the cost of operating the huge machines on the work, and the engineers have got the figures down to a fine point. It lias been found that the job in hand at the present time is being done for 6£d a yard. This is working cost on excavation. Had the work been done by man power, the cost would have been 2s 6d a yard. The engineers are confident they can bring the cost below 6d a yard. The average cost over the whole of the work, including portions that had to be man handled, has been lOd a yard. This has borne out the policy of the Department in utilising mechanical means on the scheme. In Wintry Conditions. Residents of the district where the irrigation is now centred consider that the present winter is the most severe for 36 years, so it is not to be wonderered at that the men on the work aro finding ,the conditions somewhat trying at times. So cold have been the nights that the operation of the tractors by electric

light has had to be stopped. Frosts have made the ground so hard that night work has been practically out of. the question, apart from the-question of hardship on the men driving the tractars and operating other machines. Snow and sleet have been experienced on some nights, and this again has caused the abandonment of worm Recently, there were three clays of frost without a thaw, and tne conditions at the camp were far from pleasant. Jugs of water in the huts are often frozen through in the mornings, but during the three-day frost the w- ter in two 400 gallon tanks which supply 1 the camp bath house, Avas frozen solid,

and blow lamps and other means had to be employed to melt it. The whole water system of the camp has been frozen on several occasions, and even pipes that are heavily wrapped have failed to give any water. Mud that has accumulated on the tractors during the day’s work has been frozen overnight, presenting some difficulty to the operators. Olio morning recently, the tractors were so frozen that it took five hours to thaw them out with fires and blow lamps before they could be moved. Three men have cracked up because of the conditions, and have been taken back to their homes. The huts are cosy, however, and the men are able to keep them warm with the heaters that are provided for them.