Runway project takes off
THE Cairns Airport runway upgrade is running to schedule with the completion of the initial stage of an $18 million resurfacing project.
The first part of the runway overlay was completed earlier this week. Now the asphalt will continue to cure until early July, when bitumen contractor Fulton Hogan will return to “groove” the surface.
Work involves the laying of 21,000 tonnes of asphalt sourced from local quarries over 150,000 sqm.
The runway works are being undertaken six nights a week to minimise disruptions.
Cairns Airport CEO Norris Carter said the project was an important investment in the future of Cairns Airport and the region’s economy.
“Our runway has been the workhorse of Cairns since 2005 and has allowed the airport to grow from just over four million passengers a year, to well over five million passengers last year,” Mr Carter said.
“More than a million air“You craft have taken off or landed on our runway over the past 16 years and the runway overlay project is an essential investment in the future of Cairns Airport to safeguard operations for the next 15 to 20 years.”
Each night, close to 100 workers and over 60 vehicles and machinery make their way onto the runway, to lay – on average – 180m of tarmac per night.
Project manager John Kerrigan said the company was delighted to be playing a role in ensuring the safety and maintenance of such a vital piece of infrastructure.
“Upgrading the runway is a complex logistical project and the current period is giving us longer work windows that will reduce the time taken to get the project complete, and that’s a great bonus,” he said.
At completion of the project, all taxiway inset lights will be LED and their spacings will be updated to comply with the new MOS Part 139 requirements.
In total more than 20 local suppliers and service providers have been used on the runway job.