During the summer of 2020, Willemen Infra was responsible for the renovation works on runway 07L/25R at Brussels Airport. The works were delivered on time. For six weeks, work was carried out around the clock 7 days a week to limit the duration of the runway closure and the impact of these works. The thorough renovation of this runway was necessary to guarantee the safety of air traffic in the future.

In total, more than 100,000 hours of work were performed in 6 weeks by around 400 people per day. About 1000 people have worked on this project. Thanks to this renovation, the life span of the runway is extended by at least 15 years.

The work carried out on the runway was very extensive. The top layers of asphalt were milled and replaced over almost the entire surface of the runway (3.3km by 45m). The lighting system of the runway, including all cabling, was replaced. In places where this was not yet the case, the lighting was replaced by energy efficient LED lighting. The drainage system was also renovated with new channel drains and sewage pipes.

Other works were also carried out on the cabling of the data network and the airfield light poles, as well as lawn repairs.

In 2015 and 2016, we also renovated the two other runways at our national airport.

Photos © Brussels Airport Company

Key figures

Asphalt layers

• 270,000 m² of asphalt (± 40 football pitches), i.e. 70,000 tonnes manufactured in 3 asphalt plants
• At peak times: 8,000 tons placed in 12 hours with 30 asphalt machines and 100 trucks on the runway

Markings

• 25.000 litres of paint

Lighting system

• 2,000 lights for the runway and taxi ways
• 290 transformer pits
• 320km cabling
• 31km saw cuts
• 10km trenches

Drainage

• 7,4 km of channel drains
• 1,4 km new sewage pipes

Project management

• 35 people to manage the site
• 15,000 hours of preparation