Knights Brown has been awarded the contract to upgrade the ring road carriageway in the North Terminal’s long stay car park. As a result of successfully completed previous works, we were able to negotiate this contract award under our current civil engineering framework.

Engaged on design and build basis, our works included the excavation and full reconstruction of the life expired block paving carriageway. In our design we proposed using a polymer modified tarmac for the binder and surface courses, creating a more durable surface better able to withstand the heavy loads associated with bus traffic.

Our biggest challenge has been to keep the car park fully operational and minimising any inconvenience to one of the airport’s highest earning assets. In doing so, we developed a detailed phasing plan which was agreed in advance with all stakeholders including the operator, Empark.

Comprehensive traffic management layouts were produced factoring in bus movements. Our planning included swept path analysis, trial runs with the bus operator – Omniserve, and the installation of complete Chapter 8 signage prior to introduction.

Our value engineering included recycling the block paving carriageway, which was crushed locally off site and returned for use as a sub base in the new carriageway construction. This minimised waste to landfill and primary aggregates being brought in by rail.