Basler & Hofmann, Zurich Airport, Switzerland

The main landing runway 14/32 at Zurich Airport has been undergoing major renovation. Owing to the heavy use of the main landing runway and the long period of use, the pavement on runway 14-32 was so badly damaged that complete replacement was necessary. The renovation took place without disruption to flight operations – during night. 99-tonne diggers rolled up at 22:00h each evening to replace the 22.5 metre wide centreline of the 3’300 metre long and 60 metre wide concrete runway with a multi-layered asphalt pavement. The areas used for flight operations had to be cleaned, inspected and signed off by 06:30h at the latest, as the first plane came in to land on runway 14/32 at 07:00h. Civil engineers: Basler & Hofmann, Zurich