Regional airport pavement challenges, needs and innovation

Abstract

There are around 300 regional registered airports in Australia and many of these support public transport and/or regular charter flights. Many of these airports provide critical access to medical, education, recreation and other services for the local community and are owned and operated by local government organisations. The tyranny of distance and a lack of understanding of the differences between road and airport pavements, which stem from the different needs of aircraft compared to cars and trucks, create a challenge for regional airport pavements. As does the ever-increasing size of aircraft operating into many regional Australian airports and the ever-reducing budgets available for their maintenance and up-keep. This presentation describes the important differences between aircraft and road pavements and explores a number of pavement-related challenges commonly encountered by regional airport managers and project delivery teams. Key issues include strengthening for larger aircraft, longer lasting and economical bituminous surfacing works, strength rating and aircraft skid resistance management. A number of innovative solutions are described and the role of the USC Airport Pavement Research Program in developing solutions, in partnership with the Australian Airports Association and the broader industry, is described