Phase I Airport Runway Resurfacing Completed
Phase I of the runway resurfacing at LF Wade International Airport is complete.
A spokesperson said, “After two years of planning for the resurfacing of Bermuda’s only runway at the LF Wade International Airport, Skyport, operators of the Airport who are tasked with transforming Bermuda’s airport infrastructure and services, advises that Phase I of its runway improvement project is complete.
“Partnering with East End Asphalt Company Limited, [EEA], lead contractors, Lagan Aviation and Infrastructure Ltd., [Lagan] worked throughout the night for nearly three weeks to pave approximately seven thousand feet of runway surface.
“The resurfacing of the runway is the latest in $16 million worth of capital enhancement projects undertaken by Skyport at the L.F. Wade International Airport since its completion and opening of the $275 million new passenger terminal in 2020.”
Aaron Adderley, President of Skyport, said, “Earlier this year, Skyport completed the $4 million refurbishment of the Air Cargo facility and invested $5.5 million to upgrade the airfield runway and taxiway lighting system.
“This latest $4.8 million investment to resurface the runway is another major step in the transformation of our airport infrastructure. Lagan and East End Asphalt have done a fantastic job to successfully deliver what was a major and complex project, helping to ensure the runway continues to meet international standards for years to come.”
Malachey Doyle, Project Director of Lagan commented, “There were many challenges to overcome with this unique project since there is only one runway servicing for the country which meant we had to wait for the last flight to land each evening, then mobilize our team to complete the milling and asphalting – with the goal each night to be off the runway shortly after 4:00am to ensure the airport was ready to receive the first flight each day.
“High winds and rainy conditions caused some delays, but we were still able to meet our targets. Partnering with East End Asphalt has proven extremely productive as they were able to provide us with over 175 tons of asphalt each evening, which equated to 2,500 tons for this phase of the project.”
Randy Rochester, CEO of EEA, gave high praise to his team who worked over 18 hours per day in some cases to ensure the asphalt plant was ready.
He said, “This was certainly a team effort with personnel coming in during the day to service the plant to ensure it was ready to be fired up at 7:00pm each evening. The plant performed extremely well because of their efforts, which was reflected in the quantity of asphalt produced each night and its high quality, having been certified for use on a heavily regulated international runway.
“This project provided work for over 25 private trucking companies that were engaged each night to transport the material to the airport. Phase II of the project is scheduled for early in the new year, which should only take 5-7 days to complete.”
Mr. Rochester extended appreciation for the patience and understanding of the Duck’s Puddle residential community, who experienced increased levels of nighttime activity at the neighboring EEA plant throughout the project.
Glad to see that W&E did not do the job.
Had they done it the surface would be as smooth as as a dirt bike trail, cost three times as much and still not completed as they do a little on one side, move to another job, come back, do some more, leave again, come back and do a patch and so on.
Next year it would need doing again. Good to see that professionals have done the work.