Council runway upgrade turbulence-free

Eurobodalla Council has landed its Moruya Airport runway upgrade without a hitch, and ahead of the 21 day schedule.

Council crews worked seven days a week and at least 13 hours a day to complete the upgrade, utilising more than 100 staff and subcontractors.

Council project engineer Carlyle Ginger said the detailed planning and hard work had paid off.

“We opened the east-west runway on 2 March, two days ahead of schedule and the main runway one day ahead of schedule,” he said.

“This was a big plus for the airport users, particularly Skydive Oz who worked hard to secure the Australasian Sky Diving Championships in Moruya. Finishing early allowed extra practise time leading into the event. Our whole team wanted to help make this major event a success.”

Mr Ginger said the work was planned for February/March after reviewing forward weather forecasts.

“The summer months gave us much longer daylight hours and the hotter weather allowed us to minimise the risks of delays to the work,” he said.

“This was such a significant project – I don’t think we will ever have to complete a project of this size in such a short timeframe.

“We decided early to use our own team for design and construction, supported by selected contractors. It was really about getting the right people, plant and equipment for the project. Major risks were managed including the pre-delivery of 23,000 tonnes of gravel and other materials.”

Council’s construction coordinator Greg Knight everyone on the project from different areas, and support staff behind the scenes, pulled together to help make it happen.

“This included our mechanical team who worked into the night to keep our major plant on the go, our depot team, sparkies who laid the new airport lighting conduits, surveyors and designers, airport safety staff and many others,” he said.

“We’re all really proud of what we’ve been able to achieve, and Council has clearly demonstrated it has the capacity and capability to successfully deliver significant, complex and time critical projects. We’ve also all loved working on this project to deliver a piece of essential infrastructure for our region.”

The project was part of the major redevelopment of the airport precinct funded by Council and the NSW and Australian governments to drive economic development and employment across Eurobodalla.

Read more about work at the airport here.