11 million cubic metres of sand transformed to Brisbane Airport runway
Brisbane’s new $1.4 billion runway will emerge from sand
The new parallel runway at Brisbane Airport will be transformed from Queensland’s “largest sandpit” to the newest gateway to Australia. By September 2020, the sandy area that is over eight metres deep and three kilometres long will be ready to service the world’s largest airlines. For the past two years, the sand has been drawing out water like a sponge. But now the water loss and settlement have slowed, so now is the ideal time for construction to begin.
A $750 million contract is set to build the pavement of the new runway, and a $10 million project will construct a metre-high seawall to block tides and storm surges. Brisbane’s New Parallel Runway project director, Paul Coughlan said, “2017 is the start of the really exciting construction of all of the final works for our runway system.” By 2035, the Brisbane Airport will see an increase of 227,000 flights a year to 360,000. “The government in the 1980s was planning for parallel runways at the airport and now the Brisbane Airport Corporation is finally delivering that 30-year vision,” said Paul Coughlan.
Original article and photo: Brisbane's new airport runway set to emerge from the sand