PUBLIC WORKS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4812, 24 August 1876, Page 3

PUBLIC WORKS.

The return of traffic for the four weeks ending 29th July, on the Picton and Blenheim railway, gives—Passengers, etc., £174 Os. 3d.; goods, £2lB 7s. 9d.; total, £392 Bs. Por the same period, on the Nelson and Foxhill railway, the returns were—Passengers, etc., £293 14s. 6d.; goods, £l4O 6s. 9d,; total, £434 Is. 3d. We are informed that a serious landslip has occurred at the Wellington side of the Eimutaka tunnel, 3000 yards of earth having fallen in. This must seriously retard the progress of the work. Indeed, it has been already delayed a good deal by the almost constant rain, which has interfered with the work of the contractors for some time, by producing frequent slips, necessitating a great deal of their time being devoted to the clearing away the fallen stuff. During the afternoon’s proceedings in Parliament on August Ist the Hon. Mr. Richardson made a statement as to the damage done to the Brunnerton Gorge railway bridge. He described that by the anchor plates on the south side of the Grey giving way, the superstructure of the bridge fell into the river. The piers were in no way injured. Since the accident active steps had been taken to recover the material, and it was hoped that not more than a small proportion of the superstructure, costing £6O, would he lost. The estimate was that the reconstruction of the work would cost £IOOO. The calculation was that the strength of the anchor plates was three times the strength requisite. The accident showed either that the castings were faulty, or that there was an error in the general calculations and design of the bridge. The design was made in the head office in Wellington, and the Government intended to make the strictest investigation—to lay blame where there was blame, and to discover whose fault it was—and the result of that investigation would be laid before the House. In reply to Mr. Burns, he added that there were no other bridges in the colony being built on the same plans, and Mr. Burns obtained leave to withdraw questions of which he had given notice. Return of traffic on the Wellington and Masterton railway for four weeks ending 29th July, 1876 £ s. d. Passengers, 8880 ... 564 2 4 Parcels, &c. ... ... 39 17 1 Season tickets, 5 ... 9 3 0 Freight, 640 tons 15cwt. 1 Calf, 1 133 0 8 Timber, 29,342 ft. ) Total £BO2 3 1