COST OF RAILWAY SURVEYS.

Evening Star, Issue 3728, 3 February 1875, Page 3

COST OF RAILWAY SURVEYS.

To (he Editor. b i it, Your correspondent ‘ ‘ Legitimate Practice ” has surprised me very much by his statement that the surveys of certain lines of railway have been given privately to Mean's Barr and Oliver, surveyors. On the assumption that In’s information is correct, 1 should like to know, Mr Editor, w r hy Barr and Oliver should bo selected to undertake these surveys ? aud why w'hat, I consider, seems a;i exorbitant price should be given to them '! Mr Editor, I will give you an idea of what the cost of survey of the Mosgiel and Outram line should be, and then you can consult your own judgment as to whether a wise step has been taken by the Government. I give you the results oif extended experience. The length of the line is about eight miiea, and will consist of two or three straight lines at moat, connected by short curves. The ground is almost a dead level. A good engineering surveyor, with two men, can with ease complete the survey and take the necessary sections in one week. Allow another week for the plotting of the work, finishing the drawings, and making necessary calculations, which is ample time, and w 7 e have the whole entirely completed in two weeks, at the following expense : Engineering Surveyor—l2 days, at lA 3s ... ... ... ... £37 13 0 Two men—G days each, at ( Js ... 5 8 0 Expenses, say 10 0 0 Absolute cost ... £53 4 0 as against L 152, the price calculated at the rate of Ll9 per mile.—l am, &c., Faiki-lav. Dunedin, February 2,