CPB Contractors has achieved a key milestone in the construction of Sydney's newest airport, completing all asphalting on the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Wilton) Airport’s runway as part of the Airside, Civil and Pavement Works project.
CPB Contractors Project Director Christian Byrne said the delivery team has approached the entire project with an efficiency mindset.
The establishment of an on-site asphalt batch plant enabled the project team to place an impressive 270 tonnes of material each hour over three months.
“Having an asphalt batch plant on site increased efficiency and significantly reduced truck movements on local roads. There were approximately 15 trucks used on site involved in the process of asphalt placement”, adds Christian.
The 3.7km runway combines two pavement types:
- Rigid concrete: Used at both runway ends (approximately 250 meters each) for enhanced stability and load-bearing capacity.
- Flexible asphalt: Covering the remaining runway length. It offers superior flexibility and durability to withstand the conditions that come with aircraft operations.
“The asphalt used for the runway is different to road asphalt. It has more friction and is more durable to manage the force of aircraft taking off and landing”, added Christian.
“We’ve also laid approximately 220km of aeronautical ground lighting cabling under the runway. That’s equivalent to the distance between Sydney and Forster”, adds Christian.
This asphalting milestone marks a major achievement for CPB Contractors and its joint venture partners delivering the Western Sydney – Airside, Civil and Pavements project. This is the third project awarded by Western Sydney Airport to the joint venture, following the earlier award of two earthworks packages.