80

REPORT by the Provincial Engineer on the various Public Works undertaken during the Past Year.

Provincial Engineer’s Office,
Wellington April 23, 1872.

Sir,—

I have the honor to forward for your information the following report upon the various public works undertaken during the last year.

The Rimutaka Hill, which suffered so severely by the heavy downfall of rain last autumn, has been thoroughly repaired. The removal of the slips, and the rebuilding of the bridges, were undertaken in small contracts; nearly the whole of the latter were more or less damaged, five of the largest being entirely swept away. The road has been considerably improved by the work, several of the points and narrow places have been widened. The total cost of the repairs amounted approximately to £1,050, a portion only of this expenditure is charged to this year. It was not deemed advisable to rebuild the bridges at the foot of the hill and at Abbott’s creek, (the latter one was destroyed by the falling of a tree and fire) as there were good fordways in the river, and on account of the washing away of the banks new sites would have to be selected, necessitating considerable expenditure in approaches. It would, however, be of great service to the public if a bridge was erected over the creek, at the last crossing nearest Featherston, as the approaches are necessarily bad and the ford itself very uncertain. Upon the completion of the bridges over the Tauherinikau and Waingawa rivers, this will be the only place where there is likely to be any delay during freshets to the ordinary traffic between Wellington and Masterton.

I will briefly remark upon the bridges erected, and at present in course of erection, in the order in which they were let.

At bottom of through cutting near Featherston, a bridge 60 feet span has been constructed. It is a combination of wood and iron, the stringers being trussed with iron rods. Mr. Petherick, of Greytown, was the contractor, and it has cost £802 19s.

TINUI BRIDGE.

The piles for this bridge were driven some years ago; it has now been completed. It has three spans of 35 feet, 25 feet, and 20 feet each. Mr. W. Francis, of Taratahi, was the contractor, and it has cost £133. In connection with this contract was repairs required to be executed to the Whareama bridge, the piles of which were in a very shaky condition. It has now been thoroughly strengthened, at a cost of about £40. The water, during the heavy flood, was seven or eight feet over the top of this bridge.

NGAHAURANGA BRIDGE.

The old bridge was carried away by the same flood that destroyed the Hutt bridge. It has now been rebuilt upon piles, 2 spans of 20 feet each, with a moulded and panelled handrail. Mr. S. Brown, of Wellington, was the contractor; it has cost £195 10s.

TURAKINA BRIDGE.

This bridge was also considerably damaged by the March floods, and plans were prepared by Mr. Hales for its repair. It consists of a new approach and protective wings. Mr. M’Neil, of Wanganui, was the contractor, at £301 5s. Before the contract was well completed another heavy flood came down, which necessitated a still further extension, costing £250, which has not yet been completed. The same contractor undertakes this work, also under the supervision of Mr. Hales.

HUTT BRIDGE.

Considerable pains were taken in fixing the site for this bridge, as the old structure had been a source of constant and heavy expense, and the nature of the banks was of such a character as almost to defy any successful means for their preservation. J. Blackett, Esq., Acting Engineer-in-Chief for the Colony, inspected and reported upon three sites, and upon a plan to protect the banks. Ultimately a committee of the Provincial Council decided and fixed upon a site which was approved of by Mr. Blackett and myself, it was very nearly identical with No. 3 site mentioned in Mr. Blackett’s report placed before the Council last Session. As the protection of the banks was always the bugbear of the old structure, it became a question what plan should be adopted. Mr. Blackett was asked to report, and the result was a very