Skip to main content

Helsinki Airport is benefiting from a new runway surface

Finland’s main international airport, serving the capital Helsinki, is now benefiting from a runway resurfacing project. The rehabilitation work has been needed for one of the airport’s three runways due to a number of age-related defects. Helsinki Airport processes some 17 million passengers/year and due to a combination of the often severe winter weather and the heavy aircraft traffic, the runway condition was not of the standard required. Resurfacing work was scheduled by FINAVIA, with a budget of some
February 23, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Finnish contractor Lemminkäinen used three W 220 large Wirtgen milling machines for the job
Finland’s main international airport, serving the capital Helsinki, is now benefiting from a runway resurfacing project. The rehabilitation work has been needed for one of the airport’s three runways due to a number of age-related defects. Helsinki Airport processes some 17 million passengers/year and due to a combination of the often severe winter weather and the heavy aircraft traffic, the runway condition was not of the standard required.

Resurfacing work was scheduled by 6704 FINAVIA, with a budget of some €11 million, while the total area to be rehabilitated 121,000m². The runway rebuild work was planned in stages, so as to mill off 250mm of asphalt from the runway surface, but with this work being handled in three passes. This method was required in order to separate the reclaimed material into different grades. The first stage of the planning job was to remove a 100mm layer, with a second stage milling away a 50mm asphalt layer, followed by the third phase to remove the final 100mm thickness.

The work was carried out by the Finnish contractor 3064 Lemminkäinen, which has a fleet of 2395 Wirtgen milling machines. The firm used three W 220 large milling machines for the job, allowing it to remove the layers within the tight timeframe required.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Advanced road recycling with Wirtgen
    November 4, 2019
    Wirtgen has developed its high-performance W 380 CRi cold recycler to meet requirements for roads requiring structural rehabilitation. This innovative machine is said to highly productive, allowing it to carry out structural road rehabilitation more quickly and with greater cost-effectiveness and quality than previous equipment.
  • A breakthrough in the horizontal reuse of PA (porous asphalt)
    May 12, 2016
    An ambitious objective has led to significant steps in the reuse of PA (porous asphalt). While the market incidentally produces PA with a maximum of 30% of recovered raw materials, BAM has introduced its own innovations, enabling more than 90% of raw materials to be reused. And this year, subsidies from the European Commission will enable the LE2AP demonstration project to be constructed: one kilometre of sustainable PA. Large-scale production is also being developed.
  • Gipave - in it for the long haul in Italy
    June 21, 2023
    Graphene-enhanced additive Gipave, from Iterchimica, has been used in binder layers of Italy’s A4 motorway in a 28-year rehabilitation trial.
  • Sumitomo is developing its asphalt paver sales outside of Japan
    April 12, 2016
    Sumitomo is looking to develop sales of its asphalt pavers outside of its Japanese home market, with the South East Asian market a particular focus. The firm is marketing two machines, both of which feature innovative Jpaver screeds with Sumitomo’s patented hydraulic extension system, which is said to offer greater paving widths than conventional designs. Managing director Ichiro Shimada said that the firm is developing its profile in South East Asia already “We have 40% of the South East Asian market,