Drilling of Pillans Point's $4 million stormwater tunnel is steaming ahead of schedule since work re-started at the beginning of the month. By yesterday, close to 40 per cent of the 400-metre tunnel had been completed and drilling was expected to reach the Waikareao Estuary by mid-February. The 2.5m-wide tunnel will runbeneath Pillans Rd, taking stormwater from the Rutherford St hollow out to the estuary - preventing a repeat of the May 2005 flooding. Progress was halted weeks after drilling started last July when the contractor found the centrifuges needed to process the excavated material were too small and needed replacing. There were no suitable centrifuges in New Zealand so they had to be found from overseas and were delivered in mid-December. Workers resumed laser-guided drilling on January 7 and the biggest tunnelling machine built in New Zealand was initially expected to reach the estuary by mid-March. Angus Emslie, Tauranga City Council storm recovery manager, said drilling work was now a month ahead of schedule and he expected the stormwater project would be finished by the end of June. The project also included the installation of stormwater pipes on Goods Rd, Upper Bureta Rd, Rutherford St, Pine Ave and Seaview Rd. Pipe installation began on Monday and is expected to take six months.
