ANOTHER TUNNEL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1001, 16 December 1910, Page 8

ANOTHER TUNNEL.

A NEW ROUTE TO KILBIRNIE. ' COST, £70,000. REPORT BY CITY ENGINEER. .The/City, 'Engineor (Mr. W. H. Morton) ■ v.ilaid: .before City'. Council last. evening i;<ah. exhaustive: report on : the- best means of-'providing-',iidditional facilities for traf-/..fic-betweeii t/v) city and Kilbirnie and : Hataitai districts. Consideration by the tVcpuncil'.'.wos deferred until, its next meet.ing, in- January. /Meantime copies of the / Ijjy; plans, are to be .to V members. \ Mr. Morton's ..'report;is as follows:— i". - "The. present" l , tunnel through Mount './Victoria is . the outcome of negotiations ' between tho Hattiitai. L'anl Sjiidicato and : 'the council, .and had.it not been for the contribution from. this, syndicate it is L certain;.: that., the', tramway Kilbirnie, i.' Miramar,- Seato'im. arid. Lyall. Bay would r' .have passed,;over;;Con-stable Street hill. As the;, contribution, however,' was forth-.-C'comiiigj-'. the ■ tunnd was constructed, and (.. 'future'extensions made .to the lino which hid Men carried-tc> Kilbirnie. I . . "Whilst the tunnbl'was under constrncjj ' tion. -a'question. W'tß. raised by the then f-; Mayor-'(Hon. :T. W; ;Hislop) as to the ad-j ;. \ viability of widening same. After caref'.ifnl consideration it iras pointed out that ( . cvon-though the exiiiing tunnel were of f'V sufficient width to.'talis two lines of traff.:: fie, the time would undoubtedly arrive, -and very shortly, wheii it Would be absoj.;'lutely necessary to carry a loop line, over ,the Constable Street hill .for the purpose . of- connecting between.: Nowtown a.td the districts.

| A-. Correct Decision,. . 1;' ,"". -'"Thedecision ■ wh.ic"h was come to at ' that time was,-in my ,opinion, correct. It !, will be found necess\Ty to extend ; the r;';;-tramway , over.'Constable :Street, in-- Order [ -. to .satisfactorily deal' wißi the traffic to k.; theseoutlying- places; -jand -for the cohvenience of the travelling public general- • ly. It has to be-borne 'in 1 , mind that tho : centre of -the';'city-, is, gradually extending [:.r further southwards. ''After''very careful 1 , consideration of I t. the various points, I im of opinion, that the existing tunnel is'\ properly located, K .- and best suited to'serve tramway requiretV -inents. in connection. wilih Hataitai and l :'-North Kilbirriie,v.that in',order to accommodate traffic and to connect-Newt'own with Kilbirnie,' Maranui, Seatoun, and Miramar, a tramway connection, 'over | -i Constable; Street-HUI ..willi be required; j;.-, Shat the best means of presiding for ve-, ■ incular and passenger, traffic between the city and, those districts, cast of Mount 'Victoria would, be by meiins of a tunnel. , . : approached- from Sussex ''Square, through ; private property in .To-.vn Acre 669. The - approaches':at ; the western' .end would.-bo :.' through grounds owned by the Welling,l - tqn College-Trustees'. The: tunnel through the.-Totm Belt would be approximately 80 chains in length," and the" approaches s"\ . at the .eastern .end'would be through the Town i .Belt connecting ■ with Moxham if-a Avenue near-Goa Street.. A branch conf"' nection 'from this 1 latter approach could. l/.iVbe: made to serve Hataitai from.opposite f; Nelson Street.. .- i" : : "The gradients of the approaches would |« be'approximately 1 in 2&, and the, width ;?■-of;.the .tunnel 30' feet with'two footpaths i-;; each 4ft.-6ih. in width.

f . Unsatisfactory Proposals. t : "In connection with the previous prorposals regarding: the alteration,, in, the ! width of the existing tunnel,'or construct-" f- ;Mrig: of "ahother tunnel alongside the exist- ; ing. tunnel qt the .end of Pirie Street to r. accommodate vehicular traffic, I.desije to K ; point.-out,:that the gradients of, the apf;'(,.proaches,';!l in '12,'-' to this tunnel would' not. be: considered 1 as suitable, for the ;accominodation of .city traffic.; It, must be £-. : remembered .that, in' years to come .any improyed connection by -'means of tunnel - Kilbirnie and , the city will re- !:: siilt in ! heavy, loads and considerable traf- , fie. To have approaches l steeper than I: E.-'m2s would, in.-my' opinion,, be bad en- ?.•' gineering; and -unsatisfactory,' in ' every '-i r; "I strongly, recommend that' : in the j . eyent .of. such; a connection being made i ■; every erfdeavour. should be. made to keep |-r ;the gradients:as easy as possible. It--.. ."In . connection. with - the scheme , now. submitted,, and as 'illustrated on rough j->.;plan'att'ac|ied hereto, an inspection of the ground sHows - that; the-route proposed is ; . the most easily constructed and the most { ' satisfactory, as a means of connection" to ! the ,outlying districts that,'can bet .ob-' • . taiiied. , '7,.-v. ■ "■■■ ! . "It is to be regretted that such a route f.-;-'would- require •to - pass throiigh the f-: . grounds occupied, by the .Wellington Col- •; lege, but it would be possible to pro- ; perly compensate the college authoritiestr'fcr- :*the' disturbance'-of . tho grounds by rproviding others of suitable , area and [v- character. fv'.; "The-benefit to,' : be derived from the K ; construction of the improved connection proposed would be .considerable to the ; ■ wholo of; the" districts lying.- to -the cast |' v of Mount Victoria, including the .adjacent municipality 'of ; Miramar, and but little benefit will be derived by residents, with-.' I. : . in the remainder* of the city. " The district. to be benefited,should, in; my opini;' ion, be. subjected to. special,rating to deif v, fray .the'cost of the work, " • ; ''.The estimated cost, including purchase |i: of land,; construction of-.tunnel,' coihpen- ?! sation,- engineering, and-contingencies is !" .£70,000." . , /