GREAT WATERFRONT CHANGES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 719, 19 July 1929, Page 7

GREAT WATERFRONT CHANGES

FIRST SECTION OF VIADUCT IN AUGUST NEW VEHICULAR FERRY SITE STARTED O' Christmastime the vehicular ferry service for Northcote ~ and Birkenhead will leave from its new site on the h reeman’s Bay reclamation. This will enable the engineer of the Harbour Board, Mr. O. Holderness, to remove the present ferry near Prince’s Wharf and complete the junction of Quay Street with the new viaduct which is replacing the Western "Wharf. The viaduct, as far as the present expenditure allows in this year s estimates, will be completed by April next year, but the first section will be finished about the end of August.

ATR. HOLDERNESS stated this morning that the first section, about 150 feet in length, will be ready in six weeks’ time. Vessels will then be using it as a wharf while the next section is being completed. A visit to the viaduct and to the Western Reclamation discloses a great deal of activity along the waterfront, and it is possible to visualise the great changes which will have taken place by the end of the year. The first pile of the new viaduct, which it is expected will eventually join Quay Street, from Prince's Wharf, with the end of the Freeman’s Bay reclamation, was driven on April 27. A FLYING START Mr. Holderness said this morning that he was able to make a flying start on the new structure as there was a sufficient quantity of steel in stock. The other steel which was ordered from England for the work is reaching Auckland at present. There are 64 men employed, and these will be at work constantly until the whole of the structure is finished, j Those who are not employed on the [ viaduct itself are making the con- | crete piles ou the board’s special area on reclaimed land at Freeman’s Bay. Here ingenious mechanism enables the concrete piles to be made quickly and in large numbers. Special moving gantreys are used and other apparatus lor the swift moving of the shingle from the barges to the mixing plants. The viaduct, which will eventually carry railway, vehicular and pedestrian traffic, will be 120 feet wide, but the first section, which is nearing completion, is only 50 feet in width. The old wharf is being kept in working order for the convenience of shipping. METHODS OF WORKING In describing the methods of working, Mr. Holderness stated that the piles are driven the full height of the outside wall and that four feet above low-water the whole of the piling is concreted together. The piles are driven on a slight slant, which adds to their stability because when the earth filling presses from behind the wall a slight move is not unexpected and therefore the slant counteracts this. By binding the piles together continuity is obtained and the land ties, strong lengths of steel embedded in the earth filling of the viaduct, assist in providing the necessary stability. These laud ties are secured to huge concrete blocks in the middle of the filling of the viaduct. The finished wall contains niches, which are both economical and decorative. Over the whole of the outside structure there are wooden beams which act as fenders. These also give an attractive appearance to the wall. Altogether 58,000 cubic, yards of scoria will be used for filling in the roadway of the viaduct. This is a much better material than the mud

and debris which are dredged from the harbour bed as it does not have to dry as the reclaimed soil does, and there is less pressure on the outside walls. PROVISION FOR POWER AND WATER Provision for water and electric wire pipes has been made in the concrete of the viaduct. This is an absolute necessity as boats using the wharf will take on water and electric power will be used for lighting and lifting. The piling of the viaduct is tongued and grooved, which aids the driving of them and allows the land ties to be securely locked between them. ' The section of the viaduct for which i the necessary financial provision has been made will go 150 ft beyond the end of the present Western Wharf. Future developments will not be discussed until the next year's estimates come before the board. Workmen are busily removing 22-year-old concrete on the wall of the Freeman’s Bay reclamation to make provision for the new Birkenhead and Northcote vehicular ferry which will be in operation by Christmas. Piles have already been placed in position for the landing stage and the concrete house which will contain the electric lifting and lowering gear is being constructed. The ferries will swing out and in through an opening in the breakwater which guards St. Mary’s Bay. Vehicles -will approach the ferries from the city past Victoria Park and along Halsey and Jellicoe Streets. When the viaduct is completed, of course, there will be a straight run from Quay Street to the ferry site, which is in a direct line across the bay, with the tower of the Ferry Buildings. COMPLETING RECLAMATION Immense changes are taking place in an area of 25 acres which are being reclaimed beyond the western wall of the Freeman’s Bay area. A considerable section of it is now above water at high tide and motor-lorries run across it discharging their loads of debris. It is estimated that at the present rate the whole area will have been reclaimed in another 12 months. Land is beiug reclaimed from the sea at the rate of I.2ooyds a day. Soil is being dumped into the area from a dredge working in St. Mary’s Bay, which is growing deeper all the time, and other soil from the city side is dumped there from motor-lorries. When the whole of the Freeman’s Bay reclamation is completed it will contain 97 acres, 72 of which are now occupying buildings and roads and 25 of which are being filled. This great area of waterfront property is a wonderful asset to the Harbour Board. Applications have already been made for sites on the section now being reclaimed, so that none of it will remain idle for any length of time.