More work on 'Main Trunk'

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 36, 26 February 1985, Page 3

More work on 'Main Trunk'

Tenders are being sought this week for works in connection with the Main Trunk Line improvements at Hapuawhenua Bridge and Horopito. New Zealand Railways Corporation is seeking tenders for the construction of a new culvert on the Haere Maere Stream. Sub contractors and suppliers tendering for the Ohakune Horopito Deviation and Hapuawhenua Bridge and Civil Works contracts have also been

asked to submit their quotations. Under the planned electrification of the Main Trunk Line, the Hapuawhenua and the Taonui viaducts are due for demolition and a number of difficult curves will be elirriinated as the line is straightened. The Hapuawhenua viaduct was completed in April 1908 and this allowed the railway track to be completed between Ohakune and Horopito. Although the viaduct is scheduled for demolition as part of the current track improvement scheme, the

Wanganui regional committee of the Historic Places Trust supports a proposal that it should be preserved as a monument. The committee is to make representation to the Trust 's headquarters in Wellington on the issue. As other unused viaducts on the line have already been demolished, the regional committee hopes this one can be saved to act as a memorial to the engineers and men who built the Main Trunk, possibly as part of the walkway system through the Tongariro National Park.