Skip to main content

Runway road rehabilitation

The Frankfurt/Hahn Airport is benefiting from an upgrade to its facilities as well as its road links that will help cope with increased traffic. The site was commissioned as a civilian airport in 1993 and is one of the fastest growing German airports as well as being the fourth largest cargo airport in Germany.
February 29, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
The BOMAG milling machines worked reliably within a tight time frame
The Frankfurt/Hahn Airport is benefiting from an upgrade to its facilities as well as its road links that will help cope with increased traffic. The site was commissioned as a civilian airport in 1993 and is one of the fastest growing German airports as well as being the fourth largest cargo airport in Germany. Upgrade work to the B50 Bundestrasse that connects with the airport is of prime importance and contractor Beitz-Fräsdienstleistungen is widening a 7.5km section of the road. The work will see the road widened and upgraded from two lanes to four-lane and this has been speeded by the high productivity of 172 Bomag planing equipment.

The work was carried out in three different stages with the first stage being planing to a depth of 40mm over a length of 7.5km, an area of 50,000m2. This work removed around 4,500tonnes of material and 180 truck loads were required to haul the milled cuttings away. The second stage was the milling of another 4,500m2 of surface to improve weak points in the road structure, which removed 1,350tonnes of binder and base layers and required a further 55 truck loads to haul the material away. The third and final stage of the milling job was to remove a 150m stretch of 6m wide binder and base layers to a depth of 320mm in front of bridges and this required the removal of 700tonnes of material in a further 28 trucks. In all the milling work required some 6,550tonnes of material to be removed.

The work had to be finished within a tight time frame and the BOMAG BM 2000/60 cold planers worked reliably and productively within the schedule. The planing work had to be completed within a single week during the day from 06.30-17.00 and with a public holiday on the Thursday, the time frame was tighter still. In spite of the surface layer being hard and only a few years old, an average milling speed of 25 m/min was achieved over the 7.5km during the first stage of the planing work. This gave a perfect, clean planed surface that allowed for quick, precise re-laying of the new surface and reduced the time needed for sweeping the road afterwards. During all three stages the average fuel consumption was an encouraging 60-65litres/hour, while cutter wear was minimised due to the effective water spraying system for the planer. Productivity was further boosted by the automatic settings that returned the cutting depth to the same height when each truck carrying the milled material was moved into place under the discharge conveyor.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Preparing a raceway with milling machinery
    November 6, 2018
    Contractor Continental Milling has played an important role in refurbishing the famous Pikes Peak Highway route in the US state of Colorado Working as a subcontractor for the Kiewit Corporation on the mill and overlay project, the Continental Milling crew was responsible for milling patches up to 213.4m long on the winding, two-lane highway known for its switchback turns and scenic vistas. The work was needed to prepare the route for the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Pikes Peak Highway fea
  • Self-healing roads, slippery roads and slimmer roads
    November 24, 2017
    This month’s bitumen technology pages bring you self-healing roads, slippery roads and slimmer roads and explains why one UK contractor has started manufacturing its own polymer modified bitumen - Kristina Smith reports. Professor Erik Schlangen, who heads up experimental micromechanics at the Delft University of Technology is receiving calls from all round the world these days. And it is hardly surprising because he and his team have invented a great new technology: asphalt that heals itself.
  • Switzerland’s new tunnel bore being built
    April 19, 2018
    A major new road tunnel project is being constructed in Switzerland – Mike Woof writes Construction work is now underway in Switzerland for the new Belchen Tunnel bore, a project that has resulted from the country’s long-term infrastructure planning. The building of this latest tunnel is important for Switzerland economically as it will deliver an upgraded link for a major transport infrastructure connection. When it is complete, the tunnel will form part of the vital A2 route between Basel, in the north
  • Paving runways at airports in Russia and Cambodia
    June 15, 2021
    Asphalt plants from Lintec are helping with the construction of runways in Russia and Cambodia