The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-11-09
Miners In Each Entrance So
Near That They Hear Each
Others Blasts -Four Hundred
Feet Before Faces Meet
BIGGEST WATER PROJECT
EVER ATTEMPTED HERE
Difficulties Overcome Which
Mark Work Of Contracting En-
gineer Jorgensen As Extraor-
binary - Engineers MarveIIed

Within a few weeks, probably close
to the first of December, the two tun.
nels being bored into the mountain
backbone of the island, from Waiahole,
on the windward side, and from Wal,
ava on the Honolulu side, will meet and
one Of the most difficult tunnelling prop.
Ositions ever attempted will be accom-.
plished.
Ninety days ago the obstacles put in
the way of the contracting engineer,
JOrgen Jorgensep, seemed almost insup-
cradle. Wholly unexpected water basins
had, been tapped by the air drills in
the face Of each tunnel. In the south
portal, on the lower side of the great
bore, a veritable mill race was encoun-
tered, millions of gallons of water
squirting daily from face, roof and floor
Of the tunnel. In the north portal,
which is being driven with a down
grade of two feet in the thousand, the
water filed the lower level and drown.
ed the workmen, coming in such quan.
titles that the two great sipbOns in
stalled were unable to handle it and
the working capacity of the bore pro-
hibited the installation of more drain,
age pipes.
Obstacles Overcome
But, despite the tremendous diff
culties, difficulties which visiting en-.
gineers marvelled over, the work was
continued until now the miners driving
in from the north and those burrow.
ing and blasting from the south are
within 400 feet of each other, so close
that the blasting, in one tunnel can
be felt in the other. During the month
of October, Mr.. Jorgensen drove the
tunnels ahead for total of ASP feet
"With little luck, l will make the
40 we had to make in November" he
says, "and the tunnel will be through
under the mountain, from one side OF
the island to the other"
The north portal is now in 25l0 feet
The south portal is in II, 400 feet. The
completed tunnel through the mountain
van he Ia 443 feet.
Most Ambitious Project
When the final hast tears down tn,
lava barrier between the faces of thu
two tunnels, the most ambitious waite
project yet attempted in the Territory
will be practically completed, as tn,
work on the many miles of side tun
nels and water bitches is also rapid,
nearing completion and very little will
he left to do when the main tunnel ha
been completed On the WaiahOle side
the intake end Of the irrigation sys
TEN, some twenty seven tunnels haV
been driven through the mountain spur
as far west as Kahana, the total lengt
Of these tunnels being 26,20l feet
These are connected up by cOncrete'
bitches and the tunnels themselves hav
been cOncreted to prevent seepag
waste.
Delivery System Complete
On the south end, the delivery end o
the project, thirteen tunnels, with
combined length Of 1921 feet, are fin
ished, designed to pick up the flow o
the main bore AID carry it to the west
where il is turned iutO a series of con
crete lined bitches and great steel 81
phOns, to be delivered on to the thirst,
land of the Oahu, plantation at an Gle
walton of 700 feet. These bitches am
siphons carry the water for 81 600 feet
across country and up and down tn
gplches.
The feeding system on the Kahan
side gathers up the waters of twent
streams, and develops underground wa
ter sources with an aggregate flow o
between four and five million gallon
day. The low water run through thes
feeding tunnels Is estimated to be 80
000, 900 gallons each twenty four hour,
which during. tho periods when the sea
son 3 rains swell the Kahana run. of, tn
bitches and tunnels are expected to ru
to fun capacity, which means that 1876
100000 gallons will pour into the feel
bitches of the Oahu plantation afte
traversing the passage dynamited TO
them through the range.
Underground River
The work in the south portal wa
made difficult because of the water tina
drenched everything and which race
from tunnel face to mouth almost car
rying the miuers off their feet, but thi
was the worst. The tunnel slOping Ia
wards the mouth, drained itself, and
fortunately, the delivery system on tn
plantation side had been 80 nearly com
pleted when the big flow was strucI
that the unexpected water, amounting
to many millions of gallons a day, cOul
be made use Of by the plantation
Most Dtficult Proposition
The disposition of the water strucI
in the north portal was a difficult prop
OsitiOn. That tunnel slopes from mout
to face, the water flowing into the tuu
mel and drowning out the miners. Whe
the huge siphOns proved inadequate t
handle the flow, heroic measures wcr
found necessary. These consisted 0
driving another tunnel, fifty feet t
one side of and sixteen feet above an
almost parallel to the main working,
the essential difference being that thi
tunnel was given an upward inclin,
Then, 100 feet in the main tunnel