THE £70,000 TUNNEL

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2150, 16 May 1914, Page 6

THE £70,000 TUNNEL

THROUGH MOUNT VICTORIA IDEA OF PROPOSED ROUTE ' -a& ■ ■ ■ PROPERTIES AFFECTED, •By'far the largest amount of money For a single -work in the proposed schedule of tho now Wellington City Expansion and Improvement Loan of £310,000, is tiro sum ef." £70,000 set down ns the estimated cost of the now traffic tunnel through Mount Victoria. Being nearly one-fowrth -of the whole amount said to be required for the long list of works, the tunnel scheme is ono that will no doubt ariesfc attention. For. eomo .time there has haon a, simmering agitation by residents of Hataitai. and Kilbirnio for. a second tunnol through.tho hill that walls in tho eastern eide of the city, and thero is, of course, little- doubt that such a tunnel would be appreciated by dwellers in the valo beyond. Naturally an important point connected with the scheme is whether the tunnel will be for the benefit of the City of. WelliWfton as a whole, and also whether that benefit is likely to bo commensurate'with the expenditure:

So far the scheme is tentative. The City.Council lias yet to discuss the jiro= posals prior to the preparation of the official schedule. Nevertheless tile Mayor- (Sir. J. P. .Luke) has .iftnounced the work as one that will he included in the scheme,' and the City Council is not likely to prevent .tSio matter being -submitted to the ratepayer. the Routs.

What will bo doubt interest the public is the route which "the City Engineer (Mr. W. H. Morton) has-planned" to connect the proposed tußnel with existing thoroughfares en.both sides of, the hill. According to the plan the tunnei will, load in from the City ssido' afcotit the:centre 'of Bufferiii Street, near the Basin Reserve. The take*off, which is to bo a 66ft. wide street, appears, from the plan, to. cut through the Roman Catholic. Convert -.property, with possibly an 'infringement, on. the adjoining block on which Mr. X. 'M'Senae's house stands.- ■- The.road goes straight back almost to tfio blind' end of Faterson Street, aud-then veers in a south-easter* ly direction across .the, WelKiigton College tennis courfs, ai>d that' corner of the coiioge "growid where the pavilion stands; crosses" , the road which forma ■ ' the ■ southeasterly boundary of the-'crickotrng urea, and proceeds at a-gentle gradient of not more than I in 25,• along the face of the foothills on the- Wellington Boys' College Reserve. It then curves into a the rear, of the main, college building.

The tunnel section'of the toad would bo 1367. feet (20 M*& ebains) froin portal to portal. It is planeed to bo 30 foot in width, arid 21 feet .6 inched in: height from, the crown of the read to the top of the tunnel itreh.

On the.Etibifiiie'side tho proposed road descends in.a fairly' straight line to a point , oir tho Town /Belt 'almost in a lino, with Smith'''Street, Kilbirnic. From that , point it is proposed tJiat tho main thoroughfare in Ejihimio should -be reached at two points by two roads. One is to eirrve round $ big shoulder In the hill in a nortlvea'sicrly direction, and come out on to the flat at- N-olson Street, and the ether is to • slant down in a south-easterly direction to the junction of Goa- Street and Moxhnm Avenue. Concession to Hataitalatis. The provision, for two roads down the hill on the Kilbirnio side is thought to be a concession.to ttie residents of Hataitai, and vehicular traffic bound that way. With only the one road (leading into Goa Street), the advantage of the grado would be lost, as there would then bo,nearly tho full length of Moxbam Avenue to traverse before the eonfines of Hataitai were reached. ... Land to be AssjislfSd. Under tho scheme, as outlined, there will bo certain properties to acquire, which must neeessarfly involve the city in a big outlay. The properties in I)lifferin Street, mentioned as likely to lie affected, should the city engineer's'present plan be adopted, or-e fairly valuable. For instance,'the.. present.Convent site, which is now' occupied by it two-storied wooden residence(formerly owned aiid occupied by- Mr. Robert B. Bannister), is earmarked as'the site of the future Kohian Catlwhe Cathedral, for which plans haw already been prepared by Mr. John S. Swjrn. Oft the other side «.f the ridgo, thanks to the existence of an expansive Town Belt, the cost involved, in the acquisition,of-re-quired land is comparatively trifling. The proposed tunnel-exceeds isting tramways tunnel m length by 1 2-3 rd chains. .