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Lilydale Airport Upgrade

A new runway for Lilydale Airport

  • Posted by: Dave Deveny

Lilydale Airport was in desperate need of an upgrade and repairs to an existing grass taxi-way due to flooding issues. The catch – they needed repairs done in two weeks. The job was contracted through local supplier Waterpave and required the supply and pour of 2250 sq of concrete. When you need that much, that fast, you call Eifers.

In consultation with Martin Cook of Waterpave and the airport, we opted to use 125mm pervious concrete. This option was selected due to its high porosity and ability to allow water and other sources to run through, reducing runoff. Pervious concrete usually requires a deeper pour than other products, meaning more concrete is needed initially, however, in the long run, this is more cost-effective thanks to its extended life cycle. Pervious concrete is one of our more eco-friendly, sustainable solutions and is the best option when dealing with rainy conditions. For Lilydale, this was a significant benefit, as the less water on their taxi-way the better.

Before laying this, we needed to profile and remove the existing subgrade, levelling the area ready for our pour. A 20mm rock layer was provided to a depth of 50mm. We formed and poured edge beams on both sites of the taxiway, installing dowels and Danley joints at 12-meter intervals. After this, we began to pour over 285m3 of pervious 7mm concrete with fibres through Volumetric mixers which we completed in nine days.

This was all possible thanks to a Whiteman Multi-Quik Super Screed and Volumetric Concrete which screeds the dry concrete. We then cut expansion joints every 2-meters as the final act. As promised the large-scale job was completed and ready for use within fourteen days. The final product was a clean and sharp taxi-way that will remain a durable solution for Lilydale Airport for many years to come.