Patea Railway.

Patea Mail, Volume VI, Issue 544, 10 July 1880, Page 2

Patea Railway.

We are informed that the amount of the contract for the Patea section of Railway, just let to Messrs Proctor and Downes, of Dunedin, is £10,928 13s. This is practically seventeen thousand. It is about fifteen hundred pounds below the tender ot Messrs Mace and Bassett, Patea. Another Patea -tenderer is understood to have been several thousands higher. The successful tenderers are experienced in railway construction, and they had an advantage in being able to cut the figures very fine, as the result of special experience in Otago. They may find the conditions unexpectedly different in doing railway construction at Patea. They may find the “special sorts of timber have to be brought from remote places. They may find the extensive excavation will cut into an ironstone substratum. But, on the other hand, practical contractors are not men to take woiks in new districts without careful inquiry into local circumstances. It will bo the hope of everybody in the district that Messrs Proctor and Downes may find that their contract yields reasonable profit on the estimate. We believe the contract is not yet signed, but the guaran tors arc evidently satisfactory to the Public Works Department, as the Minister has now informed the other tenderers that their proposals are declined.

The Wharf will require about G,GOO lineal feet for pile driving, as per specifications ; with nearly 19,000 feet for sheet piling, 20,900 feet of black birch, and 12,000 feet totara, for planking, &c. The iron-work required will approximate to 45,000 lbs weight ; and about 2,000 fascines are required. The bridge crossing the river at the bend, about three-quarters of a mile from the Wharf, will be a heavy piece of timber and iron work. About 3,600 lineal feet of piles will be required, with over 5,600 feet ot totara for planking, &c. The iron-work is about 77,000 lbs weight. The road-bridge, for running the rails beneath the present roadway to the Wharf and Station, will require about 570 lineal feet of piles, nearly 10,000 feet of totara for planking, &c., and about 1200 pounds of iron-work. The railway bridge near the mouth of the creek, to carry the rails onward to the Wharf, &c,, will bo a larger work, requiring 900 lineal feet of piles, 17,000 feet of totara, and 1500 pounds of ironwork. The roadway bridge higher up the creek, giving a broad access for passengers and traffic to the Station and Wharf, will require about 150 lineal feet of piles, 16,000 feet of totara, and over 1700 lbs of iron-work. These quantities are only approximate, but they are calculated with care and knowledge. The whole contract must be completed within 15 months from the date of signing the contract. That .date remains to be fixed by the Public Works Department. We must all hope and believe that it will be fixed early. Why not ?