Cracks are starting to show in the brand new Crown Street Mall refurbishment as the much-touted granite pavers lining the CBD strip began to rupture this week.
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The Mercury stumbled across the cracked pavement on Tuesday afternoon.
Soon afterwards, Wollongong City Council set up orange barriers to cordon off the area outside clothing retailer Dotti.
On Wednesday, council director of infrastructure and works Mike Hyde played down the uneven surface, saying it was "not that serious" and would be remedied by contractor Lahey Constructions.
Mr Hyde said the pavers had moved because they did not yet have a silicon sealant between them, and this was because the council had not been happy with the colour of the sealant the tiling subcontractor had provided.
The contractor was unable to provide enough of the correct sealant before the $19.4 million refurbishment work was stopped over summer, Mr Hyde said.
He explained the affected area was positioned over a joint designed to expand and contract with heat.
Pedestrians have been warned to avoid the area until the problem has been fixed.The lack of sealant had allowed debris to accumulate in the gaps between the pavers, which then pushed them apart when the joint expanded in this week's warm weather.
"The sealant [the tiler] wanted to put in was such a poor colour match, it was agreed they would do that when they came back and started work this year," he said.
"But this is such a well-trafficked area that grit and solid material has got in - and then the heat expansion bunched up the tiles and lifted them up."
Mr Hyde said the broken pavers would be relaid shortly and silicon would be applied when refurbishment resumed next month.
Meanwhile, contractors would look at other parts of the paved area and clean out any dirt to stop further cracks from forming.
The lifted pavers are not the first snag the mall refurbishment has hit since it reopened in early November.
The council faced public criticism over its choice of spotted gum trees, and was forced to install temporary fencing around the trees just before Christmas after vandals began tearing off their limbs.
Acting Lord Mayor Chris Connor said he was disappointed to see the cracks appear so soon. But he remained confident in the mall refurbishment.
"This is a large refurbishment and we are going to have little hiccups along the way that we're going to fix," he said.
"We're taking the time to get the best finish on everything rather than just rushing it through."
Cr Connor reassured ratepayers they would not be slugged with extra costs related to the cracked path - the contractor would cover these.
Lahey Constructions also undertook the $14 million revamp of North Beach Bathers' Pavilion, which had similar problems soon after it was finished.
Just over a week after the pavilion's grand opening in September 2012, the Mercury photographed grey slate tiles falling from its surrounding walls.
Safety fences were quickly re-erected and the tiles repaired. But a couple of months later the pavilion again made headlines as the steel fencing surrounding the building began to stain.
Lahey did not respond to requests for comment before the Mercury's deadline on Wednesday.
