Sweeptech were engaged by one of the principal contractors to support their work in rehabilitation and resurfacing of the runway. We were incredibly proud to form part of a such a fantastic team to successfully deliver this project with minimum disruption to the many stakeholders of the airport.
In a carefully planned raced against time – the critical nature of this piece of infrastructure meant that the stakes were high, as always on any airport project – the safety of all staff and everyone to use the runway in future weeks, months and years is paramount. If any piece of the runway breaks off and ends up in an aircraft engine, the results are of course potentially catastrophic, making it absolutely vital that this project – the successful resurfacing of the runway – went off without a hitch.
Each night more than 100 people and 40 trucks full of materials attend site during a slot where flights reduce, and any overnight flights are rerouted to Gatwick’s back up runway. Work commences with the runway lights being turned off and removed. Then the fleet of planing machines and trucks begin removing the asphalt and save it to be recycled. Paving machines then lay two new layers of asphalt and the runway lights are put back, so the runway is ready for handover to the airport.
Sweeptech’s resources contribution over the 3–4-month project was as follows:
- Sweepers to remove planings and debris before the new asphalt is laid
- Our patented High Tip to receive sweepings and planings and separate the solid material from liquid material to enable recycling of both materials
- Water bowser and pumps to capture and store liquid prior to removal from site
- Tankers to remove the separated liquid material to our Recycling Park within West Sussex reducing carbon miles
- We even provided water tanks and delivered a continuous supply of water used by numerous of the specialist trucks on site
- The Sweepers would complete a final sweep each night to ensure that no FOD (Foreign Objects & Debris) was left before planes started landing again
This excellent video below details everything that goes into such a prestigious and important project.
