Wroclaw airport: runway made new at night [PHOTOS]

Eighty-five people renovate Wroclaw airport runway for five nights a week, using heavy equipment. They have only five hours - between the last landing and the first morning flight. Earmarked for renovation is 80 m of runway, 60 m wide. It is a very complicated logistical operation and one of the key investments, which will help to increase the ILS navigation system to category two.

'With this system, works do not hinder the passenger traffic. We strive to provide our passengers with comfort and minimize any inconvenience,' says Dariusz Kuś, president of Wroclaw Airport.

General contractor, Strabag, begins work after the last evening plane lands, and end before the start of the first morning flight. The time window is approx. 5 hours. The time allows to renovate the approx. 80 m by 60 m runway (a standard car road is 10 m wide). After surveying and precisely determining places for modern and energy-efficient lighting, electricity network is laid, then covered with a new surface; finally, the lighting is installed.

'Usually, runways are closed during repairs. In the case of Wroclaw airport we must fit in a five-hour period of time. This is a very complicated, large-scale logistical operation. Implementation must be planned perfectly, there is no room for experimentation,' says Marcin Polak, deputy contract director with Strabag.

Renovation in numbers

• 85 - the number people working every night at the renovation of the runway
• 35 - the number of trucks delivering the bituminous mass to Wroclaw airport each time
• 26 - the approximate number of tonnes of bitumen brought in by one truck
• 3 (2 operating, 1 in reserve) - the number of machines involved in spreading of the bituminous layer
• 910 - the number of tonnes of bitumen laid in one night
• 12 - the number of rollers hardening the surface at the same time

Repair and modernization of the runway lighting is carried out according to the latest requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). It began in early August. Strabag declares that all work be completed by April 2016. The cost of works is estimated at 50 million PLN.

Investing in the development of the airport

Modernization of the runway is the next step of an investment carried out for several years now. After its completion, the airport ILS navigation system will be improved to category two. As a result, aircraft will be able to take off and land under more restricted visibility.

'Increasing the ILS to category two and full implementation of the new procedures for aircraft takeoffs and landings in difficult meteorological conditions will occur in 2017. This will translate into greater comfort,' says Jaroslaw Wroblewski, senior vice president of Wroclaw Airport. 'Passengers will experience the benefit already this winter, as it is then that the new procedures will have been put into effect.

Airport Wroclaw is already implementing new investments, including the construction of the technical infrastructure of the old airport terminal, and the purchase of two new jet bridges, along with power, control and aircraft docking systems and complete infrastructure. The bridges will be delivered to the airport in October 2015 (Wroclaw has two such sleeves already).

'The investments are of strategic importance in the development of the port, which will afterwards become even more modern and welcoming for passengers,' says Dariusz Kuś. 'The best airport awards we have repeatedly received have spurred us to continually raise the standard of our services.'

Implementation of the investment is possible thanks to the financial support that the Wroclaw airport received from the Cohesion Fund under the EU Programme Infrastructure and Environment worth over 100 million PLN.