BRING IT DOWN: WIN Stadium roof removed

The final piece of WIN Stadium’s western grandstand roof came down this morning, almost five months after winds crippled the multi-million dollar structure.Two large cranes lifted the first section of a massive central roof truss on Wednesday night, and a second section was brought down on Thursday morning.WIN Entertainment Centre general manager Stuart Barnes said the removal had gone well and the cranes were expected to be gone overnight. options={AutoStart:false,DefaultQuality:"High",PlayerWidth:463,PlayerHeight:260}Work to redesign the truss would now begin and take about a month, he said.It will then be lifted back into place before a range of works are undertaken to secure it and make it ready for use.Mr Barnes earlier disputed reports the removal of the truss was behind schedule, saying the roof was due to come down this week.‘‘The removal of the roof trusses was scheduled for this week. You can’t be specific, days wise,’’ he said.Wind conditions, rather than rain, were the key consideration for workers preparing to shift the huge structure, he said.‘‘Luckily the winds have been fairly low, that’s the big danger,’’ he said.GALLERY: The roof comes downRevised plans for the roof, revealed last month by the state government, show a slightly more rectangular design in contrast to the almost parabolic ends of the original structure.It was these ends that failed in strong but not unseasonal winds last September.Bolts supporting trusses on the roof snapped, sending the 150-tonne structure swinging in the breeze.State ministers Greg Pearce and Graham Annesley have assured the public the repaired grandstand would be open in time for the St George Illawarra Dragons’ much-anticipated match-up with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on June 8.The region’s newly-minted NSW Cup rugby team, the Illawarra Cutters, will play their first match at the venue on Sunday.But the government continues to refuse to comment on any investigation into why the original roof design failed, despite promising an independent inquiry in September.A spokesman for Mr Annesley said the appointment of blame was a matter for the stadium’s insurers.‘‘The current programme for rectification works is continuing. I think the community would agree that the number one priority for the Government is to ensure the grandstand is fully operational as fast as possible,’’ he said.