Barrier Daily Truth

Runway compo on hold

Monday, 13th February, 2012

By Erica Visser

It is too early to seek compensation for faulty material used on the $540,000 resealing of the Broken Hill Airport, says City Council.

Council began the project late last year and it was completed three weeks ago.

It was not until after stage one was finished that Council realised the aggregate, which was obtained from a local company, did not meet requirements.

Weeks after the first stage was completed the runway showed signs of cracking in the sections that took the heaviest impact from planes, according to Council’s Infrastructure Manager Paul DeLisio.

However, Mr DeLisio said that until the long term effects were known, Council would not request compensation from the company.

“We’re continuing to monitor the first stage of the reseal and the issue of the aggregate,” Mr DeLisio said.

“The aggregate used was not of the right quality. It’s crushed in some areas and the stone has been ground to dust.

“It has happened because the type and quality of material supplied by the Broken Hill quarries wasn’t suitable.”

Mr DeLisio said that Council was now in discussions with the company. 

“There was a specification that was issued and the contractors didn’t interpret that as it was written,” he said.

“We’re still in conversation but nothing can happen until you determine the long term deterioration.

“The longer term effects are still not known, so we’re not in a position to take things further.

“When we know about the long term damage we will decide whether or not we should take it further.”

The project was part of routine maintenance of the runway which requires resurfacing every 10 years.

Mr DeLisio said it was not known how much the runway’s lifespan would be reduced due to the fault, or what sections would need to be replaced.

“We are yet to determine the extent of it, so whether the life has been reduced from 10 years to five, you can’t yet form a view to whether it’s replaced in 12 months or five or six years,” he said.

Mr DeLisio said that material for stage two and three came from a branch of a company outside of Broken Hill.

He said that there had been no more problems involved with the project.

“The second and the third segment all went off without a hitch,” he said.