Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: Polymer Modified Asphalt Surface Runway

To provide additional capacity impacting less to environment in 1999 a new runway (18R-36L) at Amsterdam Airport Schipholwas constructed. The design work for this purpose started in November 1995.

The works included a 3,800 m runway, a 1,050 m long parallel taxiway with four exit taxiways and a 1,950 m connecting taxiway; a four-position de-icing platform, a rescue and fire fighting station, complete airfield lighting system including runway and taxiway stations, approach lighting system with displaced landing threshold and instrument landing systems (ILS) Cat3B for the northern (18) runway approach.

Special attention had to be paid to the locally low bearing capacity of the soil for the runway and taxiway design. With associated soil-mechanic specialists, a new method of pre-loading the primary runway and taxiways areas was developed, which resulted in a significantly shorter duration of pre-loading.

 

This runway is the first runway in the Netherlands with a width of 60 m. The runway and taxiway pavements are designed for code F Aircraft. Polymer modified asphalt (PMA) was used for the asphalt surface layers. The runway opened in February 2003. These construction involved 500,000m³ of soil, 650,000m³ of sand (used to compact the marshy soil and for the first layer of the runway), 750,000t of foundation material, 270,000t of asphalt, 130km of drainage, 34km of cabling cylinders, 170km of cables for lighting and 500 concrete wells to connect cabling and equipment.
Additionally the construction incorporated 1,700 fittings for runway lighting, 20,000 litres of paint for approximately 67km of runway lines and 906m² of markings, 30km of sewage pipes for drainage, 3km fencing and lastly 500,000 transport movements.