IMPROVEMENT OF THE RUNWAY AT MANCHESTER-AIRPORT

The paper describes how the proposal to construct a second runway at Manchester Airport was shelved in favor of a decision to strengthen, improve and extend the existing runway. The strengthening and improvement was undertaken between October 1978 and August 1980. It involved laying 236,000 t of Marshall asphalt during night closures of the runway, construction of a new taxiway, widening the hard shoulders to the runway, and the installation of a new runway lighting system. The runway extension has increased the paved length of the runway by 244 m to 3048 m. Its construction has entailed a river diversion in open channel over a length of 780 m and the formation of an embankment 25 m in height to support the extended flight strip. Embankment construction was carried out using alternate layers of marl/boulder clay and gritstone drainage layers. The new pavement was in 350 mm thick unreinforced concrete, other features of the scheme being a 25 m bridge over the new river channel, a weir/stilling pond, an aircraft arrester bed, and a localizer area for the instrument landing system.