The runway at the George Airport, in the Western Cape, has been rehabilitated to improve safety, in terms of run-off and storm water drainage, and the structural capacity of the pavement surface.

The scope of work comprised the extension of Runway 11/29, the extension of the aeronautical ground-lighting network and reprofiling of identified runway sections. Engineering and construction services company Murray & Roberts’ (M&R’s) M&R  Infrastructure was responsible for the rehabilitation, working closely with ADB Electrical on the major works.

The work done involved placing 2 080 t of Novachip Ultra Thin Friction Course on top of the new asphalt on the runway. In addition, the runway extensions and intersections comprised 1 920 t of medium-graded asphalt, while 12 710 t of medium-graded asphalt was used for the runway reprofiling.

“We had to build from an uneven existing runway surface to the final design level. This [required] numerous layers of asphalt [to be] placed on top of each other to achieve the required level,” M&R site agent Wouter Schreuder noted.

He added that the reprofiling of the runway with asphalt had been a challenge.

“We had to temporarily shorten the runway during construction, which meant that aircraft had to land without using their instrument landing systems,” he explained.

Further, M&R was also not permitted to have any steps on the runway.

“We had to create ramps after each shift’s paving operation before the runway could be opened in the morning. These had to be removed once the layer was constructed in this particular area,” Schreuder said.

Cleaning the runway after each shift was equally challenging as the area had to be clean and free of any debris pending an inspection by George Airport’s fire and rescue services before the runway could be opened in the morning.

“Time had to be allowed at the end of each shift to carry out all the required cleaning and this took careful planning,” Schreuder pointed out.

Each shift also required thorough planning, owing to the constraints of working on an operational runway, and emergency removal equipment had to be available on site in case of any plant breakdown during a shift.

“The interface between the civil and electrical works was difficult and had to be planned before the start of each shift. The logistics to get material to site posed a challenge [owing] to the strict security measures, [therefore,] the bulk of the material had to be transported to site at night,” Schreuder highlighted.

The wet and cold weather at night also played a role during the construction phase owing to certain limitations as per the project specifications.

“Care had to be taken not to damage any of the existing services, such as runway lights, while working,” Schreuder said.

M&R started work on the project in November, completing the runway in July.