FLOATING ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20728, 11 February 1939, Page 6

FLOATING ROAD

WORKMEN’S DISCOVERY TRACTOR CAUSED TO ROCK UNDERGROUND STREAM To find a newly- constructed roadway afloat and giving -way under the weight the heavy tractors and scoops was the unexpected experience of workmen on the Tuhikaramea-Frank ton Road yesterday afternoon. The trouble was first discovered after about a foot of soil bad (been removed and water seeped through the clay surface as the tractors moved backwards and forwards. The stream of traffic traversing the area forced more water through the new roadway, which soon became spongy in consistency and very wet in parts. The explanation lies in the presence of a pocket of water, or a stream, lying between tw*o layers of clay a few feet below the surface of tbe ground. Prior to the excavation work a crust on the surface of the* roadway was sufficiently thick and hard to hide the presence of the water, although at that point the old road used to become corrugated after heavy traffic. The subterranean lake or stream is situated about nine miles from Hamilton and extends for the full width of the road and for about four chains along the newly-constructed area. As the tractors and scoops, weighing about 30 tons when fully loaded, moved e« voss the area the displacement caused the road to rise and sink, while further investigation showed that a flve-foot crowbar could be easily pushed down Into the new road. Difficulties such as this are met often in road reconstruction, but can be overcome with drainage. A similar experience was encountered at the “S” bend on the main south road near Horotiu, but after drainage the road surface became hard again. The traffic on the Tuhikaramea Road is being diverted at tbe point where the water was discovered.