WSP

WSP Group

Manchester Airport, UK

By using an innovative design, WSP achieved a significant reduction in the construction programme, with obvious benefits for the client

Manchester Airport, UK

The project comprised the provision of and extended taxi-lane and five new stands for wide-bodied aircraft up to Airbus A340-600. Each stand had two secondary centrelines for smaller aircraft. The total area was 65,000 m2.

Each stand was serviced by a stand guidance system, fuel hydrants, fixed electrical ground power, emergency telephones and CCTV. The taxi-lane centreline was provided with aeronautical ground lighting.

The pavement construction was Pavement Quality Concrete. Up to 3 m of fill was required over existing ground conditions including very soft clays and poor quality made ground.

Services provided

WSP undertook outline and scheme design on behalf of Manchester Airport Developments Limited and then detailed design for the Design & Build Contractor, Costain.

The work comprised

  • geometric and structural design of the airfield pavements and head of stand roads, to ICAO and CAA criteria,
  • drainage,
  • structural design of manholes, pits, foundations and masts
  • design of the pit and duct system,
  • design of stand services, including Fixed Electrical Ground Power, fire hydrants system, CCTV, Stand Guidance, flood lighting and communications,
  • design of ancillary features such as line marking and signs, the security fence and equipment protection,
  • design of an extension to the MV ring, including an extension to an existing sub-station and a new sub-station,
  • integration of design by others for the fuel hydrant system and aeronautical ground lighting.

Innovation

Analysis and design from first principles was used to develop an alternative construction for the airfield pavements that enabled dowelling of the longitudinal joints to be eliminated, leading to a significant reduction in the construction programme. The geometric design was optimised to allow almost the entire area of Pavement Quality Concrete to be laid with a slip-form paver.

Project information

Client: Manchester Airports Developments Limited/Costain

Size: N/A

Value: £4.5M

Status: completed July 2006

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Contact

Graham Woodman

Graham Woodman

Senior Technical Director
Graham.Woodman @wspgroup.com
+44 (0)12 5631 8803