Show Japs Prep Prepare arc P Plans lans for Worlds World's First Sea Under Tunnel Will Link Yellow Sea With Inland Waters ANEW A NEW V and unusually difficult dif difficult dif dif- feat in engineering is confronting the Department of Railways of Japan with the construction of the Kwam Kwam- mon luau Tunnel under ki Id Strait which is 1200 meters wide and 20 meters deep It was HI years year ago that the first water underwater tunnel was begun the tunnel under the Thames in England the task took nearly 20 years owing to the inexperience and lack of ot facilities in those days day Since then under river tunnels have become more or less com corn Ce But Dut the tunnel tun tun- tun nd nel will be the first under sea tun nel It will bore beneath the strait which connects Inland sea with sea lea and Yellow sea Tunnel is Needed The need for such luch a tunnel is clear This neck of ot water Isa is isa isa a highway of travel on some lome days as many as 1500 vessels pass passIn passIn passin In or out of ot the Inland sea while innumerable ferry-boats ferry and lighters light light- ers era must cross their paths plying back and forth between seki and MoH carrying freight and passengers between these two railway railway rail raU way terminals on the two largest islands of Japan About half hall the water accidents of ot Japan occur at this place and besides besides be be- sides being dangerous the transshipment trans tran shipment of goods and people Is expensive ex cx pensive inconvenient and time con sum suming Ing With the tunnel in use there will willbe willbe be a time-saving time of an hour for train travelers and of ot ten hours for freight transmission to say nothing of lessening the damage to goods from handling Also the railway rail rall way calculates that its annual trans shipment expenditure of yen can be reduced to yen Surveys Being Being- Blade Made Although construction work will not be actually started before the budget estimates estimate I have been approved approved ap apo ap- ap proved by br the Imperial Diet every preparation is being made by the Department of Railways and preliminary preliminary pre pre- investigations are going forward with the hope of completing ing the task in 1940 1040 The difficulties while stupendous are not insurmountable thinks Jiro expert of ot the Way and Works bureau of ot the Japanese government government gov gov- railways who will be ap apo appointed pointed engineer o oJ of the construction construe construe- tion work The third preliminary investigation tion is now being made To find out the nature of the under sea ground which must be pierced the engineers first attempted to make perpendicular borings from an ordinary ordinary or or- raft pontoon-raft but this means was wal found unusable So a new contrivance was built consisting of a turret set on a scaffold scat scat- fold which was floated on four tanks When this had been towed to the desired spot seawater was let into the tanks and the structure was sunk so 0 that it rested Immovable Immovable Im Im- Im movable upon the sea-bottom sea with only the top of the turret above the water |