Steady Progress On Aviemore Job

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31092, 22 June 1966, Page 19

Steady Progress On Aviemore Job

A comparatively mild winter has allowed gome aspects of construction at the Aviemore hydro-electric scheme to carry on longer than usual this year, and progress is well up to date. The first section of the first penstock will be placed In position this week.

The first three Otago-end blocks of the concrete dam are now at their full height, with six others at various stages of construction. The completed concrete dam, which will be New Zealand’s largest, will eventually contain 18 blocks. Already more than 175,000 cubic yards of concrete has been poured.

The completed dam will be 1100 ft long and 186 ft high, and will contain 600,000 cubic yards of concrete. This is approximately one million tons.

Steady progress Is being maintained on the earth dam, which when completed will be 1500 ft long and contain over 1.5 million cubic yards of material. More than 255.000 cubic yards have been placed into the earth dam so far. The mild weather has been conducive to prolonged placement of the special core material used in the earth dam. Extreme cold prevents the laying of this material, and only in the last week or two have frosts been heavyenough to halt work on this aspect of construction. The special clay used In the core of the dam is obtained from a borrow pit about a mile from the dam site. More than half the required amount has been stockpiled near the pit, and this will be placed early in the spring. A dragline is now working below the construction site removing gravels from the tail race. These will be used on the down-stream shoulder of the earth dam. So far

more than 200,000 cubic yards of material has been removed from the river.

Satisfactory progress has been achieved on the site of the power-house, where about 30,000 cubic yards of concrete has been poured to date. The latest report from the Ministry of Works shows that there are about 1000 men working on the dam site and in the support force at Otematata. There are 85 items of heavy plant, such as bulldozers, cranes and other earth-moving equipment engaged in the construction work.

The Aviemore project, which is about 10 miles downstream from the recently commissioned Benmore scheme, is expected to produce power by June, 1968. Costing £22 million, the station will have an output of 220,000