Fulton Hogan Project Manager Hayden Dutney, left, gives Mayor Phill Stone an overview of the airport runway upgrade progress.
Action aplenty at airport
Whyalla residents may have noticed an increase in activity in and around the airport recently, with the $32 million airport runway upgrade now well underway.
Major equipment such as paving machines, rollers, lighting towers and other machinery have been arriving in the city over the past week, in preparation for the main runway work.
This work has now commenced, with asphalt being trucked from the mobile asphalt plant in the Industrial Estate to the project site. This is predominantly occurring at night along Playford Avenue and the Lincoln Highway, with numerous traffic management controls in place to ensure safe operations (see below).
Mayor Phill Stone visited the airport this week and was impressed by the amount of work now underway.
“It’s fantastic to see this level of activity in our city – particularly involving so many local contractor companies and individuals – and we expect this to have significant flow-on effects for the city for months to come,” Mayor Stone said.
“The new runway is starting to be laid; the old apron has been demolished; and work on new lighting has commenced; so it’s all-systems-go for the workers and machinery out on site.
“I encourage all residents to keep an eye on the project site on our website for a complete overview of the work; as well as downloading the My Local Services app to receive all the latest updates direct to their devices.”
Airport Operations Lead Tanvir Sadeque, left, Mayor Phill Stone, Fulton Hogan Project Manager Hayden Dutney, and Runway Upgrade Project Manager Anthony Bray in front of the new equipment that has arrived in recent weeks.
In terms of asphalt trucking, the traffic management controls in place include:
- Speed limit restricted to 40km/h
- Trucks must operate in the right-hand lane only
- Each truck will be individually numbered for tracking
If any residents have concerns regarding adherence to these controls, please contact council on 8640 3444 or council@whyalla.sa.gov.au.
Also a reminder that the Royal Flying Doctor Service will continue to operate throughout the project, as will regular flights, so residents can still travel while the work is underway.
This project is being made possible by $16.2 million in Australian Government funding and $13.8 million in State Government funding.
