Cardiff International Airport Airfield Pavement Rehabilitation Project

CLIENT

Cardiff Airport is the gateway to Wales, handling over a million passengers a year with over 50 direct routes and more than 900 connecting destinations worldwide through hubs including Amsterdam Schiphol, Dublin and Barcelona.

The Airport’s runway is 2,392m long and 46m wide and, on average, up to 25 aircraft can take off and land every hour. Take off and landing over either the sea or agricultural land ensures that the Airport has a low noise impact on the neighbouring community.  The Airport is situated in the Vale of Glamorgan, just 13 miles from junction 33 of the M4 and around 30 minutes from Cardiff city centre. 

CHALLENGE

Lagan Aviation and Infrastructure Ltd were appointed Principal Contractor for the Cardiff International Airport Airfield Pavement Rehabilitation project in October 2023.  Although a Lagan Aviation and Infrastructure Project, this was managed and delivered by LAML.

The works involved undertaking a full assessment of the requirements to undertake a complete rehabilitation of the main taxiway and an upgrade to the Airfield Ground Lighting to energy-efficient LED lights.

These main taxiway works were undertaken in six possessions.

Brief description of works completed:

·       Planning of existing surface

·       Resurfacing of taxiway

·       Localised patching to sub-base

·       Saw cutting and sealing using hot applied joint sealant

·       Removal of existing AGL and replaced with LED

·       Over coring and installation of AGL seating pots

·       Reinstatement of all line marking

BENEFITS

The airport remaining operational is key for the Island so any downtime needs to be minimised.  By investing in life-extending maintenance solutions such as overbanding and replacing joint sealant the end client is able to reduce disruption and prolong the life of their infrastructure. Overbanding reduces water ingress into the underlying pavement from cracking.  In the colder weather water damage through the freeze-thaw effects can cause potholes and surface failure resulting in FOD (foreign object debris) issues.  Overbanding helps prevent this from occurring.  Joint sealing allows the pavement materials to expand and contract due to weather conditions without cracking or damage occurring.

Total project 12 weeks, delivered in 10 weeks

LAML completed the full rehabilitation of the main taxiway along with an upgrade to the Airfield Ground Lighting to energy-efficient LED lights on time in 6 phases.

Our team removed 50mm of surface course and reinstated with 16,500m2 of inlay SMA which was carried out under night shift closure.  We undertook subsequent foundation reinforcement patches within the keel with the specified HDM material.  

The SMA surfacing works covered a total of 53,000m2. The team also carried out surface joint sealing and crack repairs to the existing pavement, removed all existing AGL seating pots ready for new LED light installation, completed 500mm stabilisations for new lighting and installed 94 new LED AGL lights which were re-cabled through existing ducts.

On completion of each works phase line marking was reinstated through use of our established experienced supply chain partner.

This was another successful project completed with a high safety record and completed ahead of schedule.

Quality Assurance

In line with contractual requirements and our ISO 9001 quality standard, LAML ensured all necessary quality assurance testing was carried out and the documented records required were completed and provided to the client.

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