by undersea road

To the peaks of Moorea by undersea road

From a Papeete correspondent A proposed tunnel under the sea to link two of the most famous islands in the South Seas —Tahiti and Moorea —would cut the time it takes to travel between the two islands from the present hour to about 15 minutes. Tahiti and Moorea at the nearest points are about 10 miles apart. PIM briefly reported on the plan in May (p. 23). Here are some more facts.

Le Journal de Tahiti reports that an American company, the Swinger Tunnel Co., of Austin, Texas, had begun drawing up preliminary plans for the tunnel about six months ago.

“For some time,” the newspaper said, “the file on the tunnel was pigeonholed and the project appeared to be forgotten. But suddenly, at the same time that the Minister for Overseas Territories, General Bil lotte, assured French Polynesia about its future, the promoters regained confidence and began going on with the project.”

According to the report, the tunnel will be open to traffic about Christ mas, 1975, if everything goes accord ing to plan.

Toll proposed

A toll will be payable on each vehicle using the tunnel. The amount of the toll will be fixed so that the cost of building the tunnel can be amortised in 60 years.

The plans drawn up by the Swinger Tunnel Co. provide for cars to enter the tunnel on the Tahiti side by a road descending spirally.

On the Moorea side, the cars would be taken to the surface by a

lift capable of carrying four vehicles at a time.

The idea of linking Tahiti and Moorea by submarine tunnel was first proposed by Governor Rene Petibon, who, as French Polynesia’s chief executive from 1950 to 1954, was responsible for several major civil engineering projects in Tahiti.

In an era when copra and Makatea phosphate were still French Polyne sia’s chief money-earners, Governor Petibon foresaw that a tunnel be tween Tahiti and Moorea could be a valuable asset if Tahiti became an important centre for tourists.

Stol Air Services, One Of Ng’S

biggest charter airways, was ad vertised for sale in mid-May by its sole owner, Mr. Ron Firns, of Port Moresby, a former Department of Civil Aviation official in the terri tory.

Stol, started by Mr. Firns in 1960 with one single-engined Cessna, currently has nine aircraft, including five twin-engined aircraft. Mr. Fims said the annual turnover of the com pany was $400,000.

Moorea, photographed from the closest point on Tahiti.