Nearly $1 million in additional preparatory works related to the planned 2,500-foot runway expansion at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport are under way, records show.

The works — further geotechnical surveying and modeling of the expansion’s impact on nearby currents — were needed due to government’s decision to build the runway on filled land rather than elevated platforms, Ronald Smith-Berkeley, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour, said Tuesday.

The geotechnical surveying — analysis of the rock bed on which the runway will be constructed — is being carried out by the Trinidad-based firm Geotech Associates at a cost of $433,370, according to an Oct. 18 contract recently filed at the High Court Registry.

Assisting in that work is the Virgin Islands-based firm Port and Marine Services, which is providing a barge and other supplies at a cost of $458,796.33, according to a Dec. 18 contract.

Initial geotechnical surveys — also performed by Geotech at a cost of $111,600 —revealed that the rock in Trellis and Well bays is “relatively shallow,” Deputy Premier Dr. Kedrick Pickering told the House of Assembly last February.

That finding gave planners hope that the project could be completed by the end of 2015, Dr. Pickering said at the time. It is unclear whether or not that target can still be met.

 

See the Jan. 30, 2014 edition for full coverage.

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