ENGINEER’S THRILL

Hokitika Guardian, 30 January 1931, Page 5

ENGINEER’S THRILL

SPANNING (SYDNEY HARBOUR

COMPLETION OF ARCH

WELLINGTON, January 28

Something of the thrill he experienced when the two halves of the giant Sydney bridge arch met in midair was imparted to members oi the Rotary Club yesterday by Air Lawrence j lines, the engineer in charge of the construction, when he described how, on the completion of the critical operation, he stood on top of the arch and looked down upon the thousands of waving and shouting people on the ferry boats below.

One of the- must ticklish jobs was the hoisting of a crane weighing 500 tons to the top of a pylon, said Mr limes, It had to lift 120 tons'for 60ft. Each of the main hearings was 250 tons. With a suspension or cantilever bridge, there was .something on which to hang, hut with the arch bridge the whole'weight to the shore was suspended on cables', ft was astonishing, and bore witness to the accuracy ol the calculations, that the centre, at the finish, was found to be only la inches out of alignment, and the level no more than .',in. wrong on the levels set out two years previously. At the end there was only 3ft. Tin. of a gap. This was reduced by slackening off the cables, which was clone by 12 jacks, one at each group of cables. At the end of nine days the structure was only -tin. off exact connection. The alignment was corrected by means of a. pilot pin. ‘•you can imagine our feelings when tlie ends were brought into exact juxtaposition after four and a half years of anxious work and calculation, interspersed with troubles and strikes,” said Mr limes. ‘‘There was infinite satisfaction when the aim was finally gained at midnight on August 9. But it was next morning that we received the thrill. I had promised the Sydney Press to intimate when the opening was actually closed. We did this by hoisting the Union Jack and the Australian flag on staffs, which | were 500 feet high. Large steamers were coming up the harbour and the ferries were loaded with passengers. Hands, hats, and papers went up into the air amid rousing cheers. This was followed by “God Save the King.” Mr limes, whose home is in \ orkshire, lias been resident in Sydney for the past- six years supervising the construction of the bridge for [Messrs Dorman. Long, and Co., tbe contractors. He is at present 011 a short holiday to New Zealand, and will leave Wellington to-morrow for Australia. He told the Rotnrinns that he had slipped away from Australia to have a quiet rest.

This was his first visit to New Zealand. and it was his opinion that the Dominion was “a wonderful little country.” He had spent six days on the way from Auckland, travelling through verv fertile country.