Core drilling key stage for museum

By JOHN COUSINS
A pivotal stage in planning for Tauranga City Council's controversial $23.5 million museum on a pier has begun following a successful drilling programme.
Core samples are being analysed to ascertain the viability of the museum's foundations toward the southern end of The Strand waterfront. The geotechnical investigation involved drilling out four land-based samples and four from the harbour bed.
Beca Carter planning team leader James Low said drilling was completed well ahead of schedule. Key environmental concerns associated with the drilling such as noise did not eventuate.
"The drilling was really successful - it went faultlessly."
Results of the laboratory analysis would play a key role in determining the museum's engineering design.
Skeptics of the site have highlighted the issue of the expected difference in construction costs between building on dry land and building over the harbour.
The council's preference for an attention-grabbing museum that projected out over the harbour has drawn criticism from people who would otherwise not have opposed the museum.
And with others opposed on the grounds of cost, the issue was shaping up to become a major election issue.