The upgrade of the Moruya Airport runway has been completed ahead of schedule, with Council now preparing to move on to the next stage of the precincts development.

Crews from Eurobodalla Shire Council have worked seven days a week and at least 13 hours a day to complete the works, utilising more than 100 staff and subcontractors.

Council Project Engineer, Carlyle Ginger says detailed planning and hard work has paid off.

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

“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 practice time leading into the event. Our whole team wanted to help make this major event a success.”

The longer daylight hours and the hotter weather of summer reduced the risks of weather delays and allowed workers to stay on the job longer.

“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,” Mr Ginger says.

Council’s Construction Coordinator, Greg Knight says everyone on the project 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 says.

“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 is part of the $9.7 million redevelopment of the airport funded by Council and the NSW and Commonwealth governments.

Divisional Manager of Property and Commercial Services Andrew Greenway, says the next stage for the redevelopment is progressing a new 11-lot subdivision in the western area of the airport precinct.

“This will include connecting water and sewer services to the new subdivision, a new internal link road, and an additional precinct access road from George Bass Drive to the north,” he says.

“Council has secured two leases for the first four-lot subdivision created last year and negotiations are continuing with other potential lessees.

“The expansion of commercial land is all about enabling more operators to do business in the precinct, create local jobs and enhance the viability of the airport long-term.

“Council will continue to pursue funding opportunities as they arise to implement further stages of the airport redevelopment, outlined in the Moruya Airport Master Plan.”

Meantime at the Australiana and New Zealand National Skydiving Championships, Chris Byrnes has broken three national records in the Speed Skydiving in the Wingsuiting division

In a breathtaking display, Byrnes traveled 324.7km/h to set a national speed record, a national record for distance – 4.977 km and the national record for time – 96.3 seconds.

The Championships continue until March 18.