Invercargill Airport runway reseal

20/03/2023

Downer and Invercargill Airport have delivered important mahi to keep the city moving.

As Aotearoa New Zealand’s southernmost city, Invercargill relies on strong transport connections to maintain its position as a key connection to tourist hotspots like Rakiura Stewart Island, Fiordland, Queenstown and The Catlins, and is growing in popularity as a destination in its own right. One of the most significant transport connections is the Invercargill Airport.

“The runway is absolutely our most important piece of infrastructure,” says Invercargill Airport Limited Chief Executive, Stuart Harris. “It’s important for Invercargill Airport to keep investing to make sure it’s in operating condition at all times.”

When chosen by Invercargill Airport to undertake resealing of its runway extensions, the local Downer team leaped to provide their resources and expertise through their collaborative approach to mahi. In 8 night shifts, the team milled over 1100 tonnes of existing runway and laid 3500 tonnes of new material - an impressive feat when taking the live airport environment into account.

Daily operations went uninterrupted for IAL, thanks to a robust programme and planning, alongside an appreciation of the airport environment from the Downer team. “It’s quite a high-pressure environment because you’ve got planes taking off into the evening before we get handed over the runway. We know there’s a tight time-frame to get our work completed in a safe and efficient manner to hand the runway back over before the first flight in the morning,” explained Edward Hailes, Otago / Southland Paving Manager for Downer.

With the first flight departing at 6:10 am each day and the last arriving at 8:30 pm, the Downer team produced an average of 450 tonnes of asphalt each night and, in case of breakdown, had spare specialist equipment and machinery immediately on hand. It was an approach that delivered a high-quality finished product, on time.

Underpinning the delivery was a commitment to Zero Harm. Throughout the 8 shifts undertaken, there were no injuries or environmental incidents – not surprising from a high performing team. Zero Harm also extends to sustainable work practices. Two key initiatives were implemented to improve the project’s environmental performance. The first, an asphalt mix that incorporated 5% of crushed glass, recycled around 800,000 glass bottles from the local Invercargill community.

The sustainable performance of the project was boosted by a company-wide initiative to reduce the idling time on vehicle and plant, launched in 2023. Downer’s Idling Reduction Programme aims to reduce unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions from by encouraging our drivers to turn off vehicles and plant if they are idle for more than 10 seconds. The programme aims to reduce 252 tonnes of carbon emissions in six months and supports our target to be Net Zero by 2050.

The glue to any successful project is the people, and Downer had some of their best delivering for the Invercargill Airport.

“There’s a level of professionalism you can feel amongst the team. They know what they’re doing, they’ve got the right gear, they’ve got spare gear, and they’re on top of it.” Stuart said of the teams mahi. “The attention to detail and the demand for high quality has been what’s really set things apart.”

Learn more about the project in the video below >