Runway Cracks Could Affect Safety

FROM BANGKOK POST:

The head of the inquiry into the construction of Suvarnabhumi airport suspects the cracked and uneven surfaces of runways and taxiways stems from substandard construction.

Praphan Khoonmee, head of the inquiry sub-committee set up by the Suvarnabhumi airport committee of the National Legislative Assembly, and panel members yesterday inspected runways and taxiways where surface cracks are mushrooming.

They found many surface cracks at holding areas for both the western and eastern runways.

The cracks are fine, short and longitudinal and believed caused by the weight of aircraft waiting to take off.

Many parts of the taxiways are uneven and cracked. Most of the flaws are waves in the pavement. The cracks are about a palm wide, a few centimetres deep and less than a metre long at each spot.

Mr Praphan said he heard from staff of Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) that the problem began only two weeks after Suvarnabhumi opened on Sept 28. It had spread to more than 100 spots with the combined area of taxiway damage more than 100,000 square metres.

The problem surfacing just two weeks after the opening indicated it probably resulted from poor construction, he said.

The actual cause of the damage had yet to be determined. That might prohibit the Civil Aviation Department from issuing the airport a permanent licence, he said.

Somjet Tinapong, an adviser to the inquiry and former managing director of New Bangkok International Airport Co, which supervised the airport's construction, said the cracks on the eastern runway were very fine, but those on the western runway were bigger and could affect safety.

Underground water had not been drained properly before construction in areas that join taxiways and the passenger terminal.

Kusol Chumpolrat, AoT's director for airports and buildings, admitted that unless the real cause was discovered, the problem could recur.

Suvarnabhumi airport director Somchai Sawasdeepol said engineers from the Highways Department, the Asian Institute of Technology and other institutions should have answers in the next few weeks.

Veerasak Pinthong, construction manager of Obayashi Co, which built the runways, insisted they had strictly followed the design and that core sampling had not revealed any water seeping into the foundations under the runway.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/22Jan2007_news02.php