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General refurbishment of Runway 15/33, Salzburg Airport

Facts and Figures
Company Consortium Sanierung Flughafen Salzburg – Strabag AG – PORR Bau GmbH
Principal Salzburger Flughafen GmbH
Location Salzburg - Austria
Type Rehabilitation
Runtime 04.2019 - 05.2019

Ensuring safe take-offs and landings

After almost 60 years and countless take-offs and landings, the concrete runway at Salzburg Airport has been given a comprehensive overhaul. The runway was closed for a total of five weeks, including 18 days dedicated to paving, with the workers applying roughly 117,000 tonnes of asphalt so that aircraft could now taxi over a freshly repaired runway. PORR was put in charge of this project once again.

A numbers game.
The rehabilitation work encompassed the existing concrete runway and six taxiways. Up to six mixing plants were deployed at the same time to provide sufficient quantities of asphalt. The mix was transported by up to 115 trucks, and ten pavers worked simultaneously to lay the asphalt in four layers. To ensure the required paving quality, each paver was preceded by an asphalt feeder. The asphalt was laid seamlessly using a staggered process. The material was compacted by over 30 asphalt rollers with a dynamic compaction control system.

Effective logistics break records.

Optimising logistics is crucial when paving with asphalt. The construction site team was able to rely on the active support of PORRRians from the Operational Management - Execution Digitalisation Support department. Persistent bad weather posed additional challenges for the entire team. Pooling all forces in a flexible way was the only means of mounting an effective response to the unpredictable weather, and ultimately led the paving team to top the record-breaking volume of 10,000 tonnes of asphalt per day not once but twice.

Saving time with digital assistance.

The software tool BPO Asphalt, short for BuildingProcessOptimisation, was used as a digital assistant. The tool links up mix production in the mixing plants, mix transportation and mix laying in real time. The software also provides an overview of all material flows, including the production status, the quantity currently being transported by road and the amount of asphalt already laid. This greatly simplified communication between all those involved. Thanks to this digital documentation, all of the key construction site parameters – paving performance, transport times, etc. – were visible immediately after paving, thus greatly reducing the amount of follow-up necessary.

The project is a prime example of successful collaboration not only within PORR, but also with all of the other participants and consortium partner STRABAG.

All parties involved at a glance

  • Asphalt paving: PORR Salzburg branch and PORR Oevermann Germany, with the assistance of staff and equipment from other regions.
  • Laboratory: Bautech Labor GmbH
  • Jointing technology and cement stabilisation ÖBA – Österreichische Betondecken Ausbau GmbH
  • Mix production: PORR’s own mixing plants and those of associated companies in Salzburg
  • Construction process optimisation (mix and paving logistics): PORR Operational Management - Execution Digitalisation Support