Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/1898/-1/140/
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Lagan On Top Of Airport Project
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Lagan Holdings International, the contractor for the Wallblake Airport expansion project, is reporting significant progress with only about 5% of work behind the real programme. The small lag is partly due to the fact that while the contract officially commenced on May 1, the company did not receive possession of the site until May 6. Notwithstanding this, the speed at which the work is progressing is expected to close the gap in due course.
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Project Manager, Jamie Collins
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“Yes we are satisfied with the progress of the work,” Jamie Collins, the company’s Project Manager, told The Anguillian. “However it remains an extremely daunting programme to achieve the handover at Christmas and the threat of hurricane or strong weather is a constant worry.” Barring any disruption by weather or other unforeseen circumstances, the company is determined to do everything within its power to meet the December deadline. That is when the tourist-carrying new American Eagle ATR72 will touch down in Anguilla.
“On the progress side, we have an obligation for site stripping, brush clearance, land fill, drainage, duct design, electrical design (including the design and implementation of the electrical systems in the Control Tower), landscaping and site setups for asphalt and concrete works,” Mr. Collins said as he detailed some of the main areas of work.
Right now Lagan Holdings is occupied with huge earth-moving activities involving the transportation of up to a million cubic yards of fill from Corito to the eastern end of the runway. The work came so close to the eastern edge of the existing airstrip that some American Eagle fights had to be cancelled last week. Brush clearance and top soil stripping have already been undertaken at the western end of the airport where extension work will also take place.
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Operations at eastern edge of airport halts American Eagle flights
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“We are now moving into significant drainage and duct works, with some four miles of ducting and two miles of drainage to go in,” the Project Manager reported. “The electrical design is in hand with both the consultants and ourselves to fully organise in agreement with the Airport Manager.” The electrical design is based on the shifting of the thresholds of the runway which will have to be moved and the electrics in the tower will also have to be altered.
Mr. Collins continued: “The airport will have to be moved twice during the construction period. A key date for us to look to is the end of August or early September to have the asphalt and electrics in place at the eastern end so we can shift the landing path. A tremendous amount of electrical organisation is required to do that.”
He explained that the threshold markings and all the associated flight landing criteria would have to be moved eastward so that work could commence at the western end. He stressed that at all times during the construction phase there must be 2,700 feet of operational runway with safety margins of 500 feet at each end. Mr. Collins stated that between 300 and 400 feet of existing runway would be overlaid with marl from the Corito burrow to level off the area as part of the re-profiling of the runway. The western end will be raised by some 30 feet and the eastern end by some 20 feet.
Asked what the airstrip would look like after completion, Mr. Collins replied: “I would say a clean sculptured landscaped airfield is what visitors would have as their first impression. It would represent what Anguilla offers as a nation: a pristine piece of engineering and that is what we are looking to provide.”
He said the new and improved aprons which will also be provided by his company would give a bird’s eye view of a significant airport and holding areas for aircraft, as opposed to a tired-looking airfield.
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Convoy of trucks waiting to unload
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Mr. Collins was pleased to report that wherever possible Lagan Holdings was utilising local skills and plants, particularly trucking, on the project. He said that there were at least 200 movements by local trucks a day, amounting to the haulage of some 5,000 cubic yards material daily. “We employ local drivers for our machines and local engineers and laboratory technicians who we train ourselves; and we employ local labour in carpentry across all spectrums,” he said.
He also stated that an analysis of available aggregates and plants in Anguilla had been carried out to determine their suitability for the project to satisfy the company that they could be used to keep the cost down for the Government. It was found that the local asphalt plant owned by Derek Romney at Shoal Bay could be utilised. “We had to bring in special pieces of equipment to modify the existing plant and we have gone under negotiations with the local owner Mr. Romney in doing that. We are able to provide a system to produce the calibre that’s required,” he added.
Meanwhile, as the work progresses, Mr. Collins said the company was using a large amount of water every day to keep the dust and debris down from affecting adjacent properties. Three specialist mechanics had also been employed to keep the noise level of plants on the site at a minimum to ensure the comfort of the nearby householders.
The Anguilla Government has provided air conditioners for a number of persons who are forced to keep the shutters of their houses closed from the dust.