Athletics track was not built to carry trucks

THE frantic efforts to repair the athletics track at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi on the eve of competition reminded me of the picture you published of rugby player John Hayes on an exercise bike on the athletics track in University of Limerick (UL) with a truck parked on the track behind him (September 24).

The damage in Delhi was caused by the weight of vehicles and floats on the track during the opening ceremony.

There are cracked and broken footpaths all over the country after cars and trucks had been parked on them. Likewise an athletics track is likely to suffer damage from subsidence from the weight of such vehicles parked on them. After all, they are not built on solid rock.