Bay Airport runway renewal project wins national award

The Hervey Bay Airport runway renewal has taken out the ‘Corporate Project of the Year Award – Large Regional Airport’ at the National Airport Industry Awards 2021.

Australian Airport Association Chief Executive James Goodwin said the awards recognised the many and varied achievements of the sector, with 86 airports and service providers nominating in what has been an incredibly challenging year.

“Despite navigating the most difficult period the sector has faced in living memory, Australian airports have taken the challenges in their stride and continued to adapt and innovate,” Mr Goodwin said. 

The Hervey Bay Airport runway renewal project, undertaken by Fulton Hogan for the Fraser Coast Regional Council, was completed four months ahead of schedule and included an upgrade of the airport runway and replacement of the airfield lighting. 

“Congratulations to Fulton Hogan for the award. They put in a mammoth effort to ensure that the Hervey Bay project went smoothly and did not cause any disruptions to airport services,” Fraser Coast Regional Council Deputy Mayor Darren Everard said.

“It was the first major upgrade of the Hervey Bay Airport since the runway was lengthened to allow for the introduction of jet services in 2005.

“The works were vital to ensure the airport continued to meet the national standards to service residents and visitors to the Fraser Coast.

“The project provided a big boost to local businesses with up to 150 full-time and contract staff working at the airport during each shift, including local contractors, with materials and equipment also sourced from local suppliers.”

Fulton Hogan built an onsite batching plant that produced 300 tonnes of asphalt an hour, which meant they could use two paving machines and crews at once.

“The project, which began in July was originally scheduled to finish in March 2021 but was largely completed by early November 2020, through the use of two crews per shift,” Cr Everard said.

“Two crews laid 45,000 tonnes of asphalt for the project. The major work involved overlaying the runway pavement and rejuvenating the taxiway and aprons to both the terminal used by commercial flights and to the industrial aviation precinct.

“Lighting upgrades were mainly carried out during the day while the runway upgrade occurred at night to minimise the impact on commercial passenger flights.

“It’s fantastic to see Fulton Hogan recognised on the national stage with a prestigious award for the work they did to successfully deliver the Hervey Bay airport runway renewal project.”

The $24m Hervey Bay Airport runway renewal project was supported by a $9.19 million grant through the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund and was identified as one of the key projects in the Hinkler Regional Deal.

The Hinkler Regional Deal for the Bundaberg-Hervey Bay region is an Australian Government initiative in partnership with the local Councils that seeks to build on the areas strengths to provide economic growth and long term employment.

A short video prepared by Fulton Hogan showcasing their work on the Hervey Bay Airport runway renewal project is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5jooAegvqw