Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) has concluded the construction phase of the first part of the link taxiways, which will connect the new parallel runway with the domestic and international terminals, as well as the rest of the existing airfield.
The taxiway was constructed by McConnell Dowell as part of the $120 million Dryandra Road Underpass contract. Its construction will facilitate the opening of a public road providing access to airport facilities, such as the General Aviation Precinct. The road will be open at the end of this month.
“As the finish line for the construction of the biggest aviation project in Australia draws close, it is easy to forget just how much planning it has taken to get to this point,” said Gert-Jan de Graaff, BAC CEO.
“Brisbane’s new runway has been on Master Plan documents since the 1970s, so to be here where we can physically stand on taxiways and see the foundations of the runway being laid is a huge achievement for the thousands of people who have been involved with this project since its very early days.
“While this milestone is a great achievement for the project, it is only the tip of the iceberg for what is to come in the next few months.
“The focus now is on the physical runway and broader taxiway systems, which are starting to take shape with the initial base layers of crushed rock already being placed, working from the centre out.
“Along with the runway and taxiway construction, comes a multitude of other activities such as the construction of the High Intensity Approach Lighting system to both the north and south of the runway centre line, and landscaping the 300-hectare site ahead of opening in mid-2020.”
Jim Frith, McConnell Dowell managing director called the Underpass an engineering feat, and although it is the smaller of the two contracts for Brisbane’s new runway, it is a significant and essential structure for the project.
“Being 1.6m thick at the deepest point, these bridges are designed to withstand the weight of a fully-laden A380, as well as any planned, future variants,” Frith continued.
“To put the complexity of this project into perspective, the Underpass is being constructed 5m below sea-level, meaning that the de-watering system is required to remove the equivalent of the volume of two Olympic swimming pools in a single, 24-hour period, while the physical structure is comprised of approximately 20,000 cubic metres of concrete and 4000 tonnes of reinforced steel.
“The construction has required the employment of around 300 people on site due to the enormity and complexity of the works.”
The focus now turns towards the construction of the new runway, which will sit 2km away from the existing one. This will give Brisbane Airport the ability to receive arrivals or departures at the same time.
Once complete, Brisbane Airport will have doubled its capacity, and within 10 years, is expected to have the capacity and infrastructure in place to take around 1000 to 1100 flights a day.
The new runway is set to be operational sometime in 2020.