HOMER TUNNEL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20115, 8 December 1939, Page 5

HOMER TUNNEL

PIERCED BY JANUARY READY FOR USE IN 1941 If progress is maintained at the same rate as at present it is expected that the piercing of the Homer Tunnel will be completed by next January. According to Mr. D. U. White, assistant public works engineer, there is every possibility that the tunnel will be ready for use by the summer of 1941. Up to the present the saddle has been pierced for more than 3500 ft and as the total length of the tunnel will be about 4000 ft, there remains less than 500 ft of rock to be bored. Besides this work there are about two and a-half chains of scree on the western side of the saddle to be cleared for the construction of the motor road. In an interview Mr. White said that the actual tunnelling should be completed by January and the enlargement of the interior of the tunnel would be one of the next tasks to occupy the men's attention. When this was done the tunnel would be 22ft in width and 17ft in height. The piercing of the Homer Tunnel has been in progress for almost four years. Mr. White said that one of the biggest difficulties which faced those in charge of the operations was the inflow of water through the rock. However this was not expected materially to affect progress at the present advanced stage. The quantity of explosives required for blasting the rock, which is black granite, is considerable. One ton is used to every 100 ft of rock, or 411 b to every cubic yard.