Building: S.M. airport’s new facility has baggage
The shiny new baggage claim facility at the Santa Maria Public Airport isn’t even six months old but officials are already investigating a flaw in the building’s construction.
Cracks that spider web across the 4,100-square-foot building have appeared in the concrete floor. The tiny fissures may be an eyesore but are not a safety hazard, said Airport General Manager Gary Rice.
Officials aren’t sure what is causing the cracking, but Rice said one thing is for sure: “Whatever the fix is, the airport will not pay to fix this.”
“I am not pointing fingers,” he added, “but it’s not right.”
After meeting with his construction management consultant from Hoffman Associates, Rice said, a structural engineer and concrete expert are being called out to take a look at the problem.
No timeline for this has been set, Rice said.
From watching crews pour the concrete, the work appeared to be done properly, Rice said.
“I do not want to cast aspersion against the contractor; it could just be one of those things,” he said. “Deferville (SJ Construction) is an excellent contractor and the subcontractor, from what I could see, did it right.”
The $1.7 million baggage claim center opened in September after almost a year of construction. Much of the building’s cost, $1 million, was covered by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The new building houses a 90-foot conveyor belt that brings the baggage to passengers, replacing the former method of leaving bags on an angled stainless-steel counter.
