Holcim supplies materials for London Luton Airport runway resurfacing
Construction materials company Holcim UK has supplied 35,000t of aggregates for the resurfacing of the main runway at London Luton Airport, as part of an £18m infrastructure programme.
image: London Luton Airport
The project, carried out with Belfast based contractor Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure, involved the delivery of around 28,000t of aggregates from Holcim’s Bardon Hill quarry in Leicestershire and a further 7,000t of sand from its Grovebury Quarry in Leighton Buzzard.
The materials were used to produce Marshall asphalt – a high-stability asphalt mix designed to withstand heavy loads and repeated stress, It is commonly specified in airfield and runway applications because it can handle the intense pressure created by aircraft landings, take-offs and stationary loads.
According to Holcim, the resurfacing programme is the first full renewal of the airport’s 2.1km runway since 2006. The work was carried out overnight to minimise disruption to airport operations, with construction crews working in a nightly window of less than six hours before the runway reopened for morning flights.
The old runway surface removed during the works was transported to Holcim’s Croft Circular Construction Hub in Leicestershire for recycling into new asphalt products.
Marc Wolman, infrastructure director at London Luton Airport, described the resurfacing as the airport’s “largest airfield engineering programme in two decades.” The airport said the upgrade was intended to maintain the runway’s long-term operational safety and performance.
Holcim has previously supplied materials for other UK runway resurfacing projects, including work at London Stansted Airport and RAF Wittering.