page_title: Hex River Tunnels
section_title: Approval
hierarchical_section_title: Hex River Tunnels / Current route / Approval
caption_attribution_description: English: Hex River Tunnel, original eastern portal Location: Kleinstraat, near Touwsrivier, Western Cape. The tunnel floor has probably been silted up by about 6 to 10 feet since 1950. The floor is cracked silt, dry about halfway in and wet and slippery deeper in. The whole place appears to be under water every rainy season, and the silt has built up considerably over the years.
context_page_description: The four Hex River Tunnels consist of a twin tunnel of 0.5 kilometres and three single tunnels of 1.1 kilometres, 1.2 kilometres and 13.5 kilometres, on the Hexton railway route between De Doorns and Kleinstraat through the Hex River Mountains of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The line, which connects De Doorns in the Hex River valley with Touws River in the Great Karoo, is part of the main rail route between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Of the 30 kilometres of track, 16.8 kilometres are underground. Construction of the line eliminated the bottleneck of the Hex River rail pass.
context_section_description: The scheme was approved in 1946 and it was decided that full-face working would be employed in the long tunnel. With this method and working two faces simultaneously, it was expected that 3.5 kilometres (2.2 miles) complete with lining could be achieved annually, with the whole tunnel completed in four years.
  Tunnelling on the subsidiary tunnels and external earthworks commenced immediately, but start of work on the long tunnel was delayed due to special equipment that had to be designed and ordered in 1946. While awaiting the special equipment, the western (Cape Town side) and eastern (Johannesburg side) portals were established by heading and benching, and short 20 metres (66 feet) sections of tunnel were driven at both ends by 1948. The original eastern portal (coordinates 33.405814°S 19.9008°E) was dug immediately adjacent to the N1 national road some 15 kilometres (9 miles) west of Touws River and took the form of a cutting into a gradient to sufficient depth to commence tunnelling.
caption: Original eastern portal of tunnel no. 4, abandoned in 1948
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