Runway Construction: Pavements

Work is currently underway on the pavements for the 3.3km new runway and 12km of taxiways. 

The design of the pavement used for Brisbane’s new runway is based on a proven, robust design used at other airports across the world.

The runway pavement consists of nearly 2.5m of compacted sand topped with fine-crushed rock and aircraft-grade asphalt. Asphalt is used on the runway as it is a flexible material can bear the weight of a landing aircraft, is easily maintained, and allows for shape-correction in the future. 

The taxiway pavement consists of 1.5m of compacted sand topped with modified fine-crushed rock and concrete. Concrete is used on the taxiways as it is a rigid pavement that can support the weight of a fully-laden stationary aircraft awaiting clearance to take-off.

Over 100,000 tonnes of asphalt and 380,000 tonnes of concrete will be used to ensure planes are ready to take-off and land on Brisbane’s new runway once it is operational in mid-2020.