Repaving of the Main Runway (09-27) — Simón Bolívar Intl. Airport, Maiquetía
Project sheet
- Sector
- Transportation
- Client
- Instituto Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía (IAIM) / Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Transporte
- Location
- Maiquetía, La Guaira (Vargas) State, Venezuela
- Year
- 1997
- Investment
- Not specified
- Vialpa Role
- Main runway repaving with P-401 asphalt mix
Project overview
Repaving of Runway 09-27, the main runway of the country's main airport, which had been in operation for over 25 years —from its 1974 inauguration until 1997— with no major maintenance, showing potholes and cracks. A special work logistics program partially closed the runway between 6:00 AM and 3:00 PM for ten days; only wide-body operations were suspended while smaller aircraft (propeller-driven, DC-9 and 727) used the taxiway as a temporary measure. Works included removing a 15 cm thick asphalt pavement with a self-leveling reclaimer machine, sweeping and cleaning, adhesive spraying, and paving 135,000 square meters of runway with Asphalt Mix type P-401 (49,000 tons).
The Challenge
Repave the main runway of the country's most important international airport after more than 25 years of continuous operation, maintaining airport operability through a partial-closure program that allowed smaller aircraft traffic via the taxiway while works were executed.
Vialpa Scope
Removal of 15 cm thick asphalt pavement with a self-leveling reclaimer machine; sweeping, cleaning and adhesive spraying; and paving of 135,000 m² with 49,000 tons of P-401 asphalt mix under partial runway closure for ten days.
Engineering / Construction Approach
Logistical scheduling of daily work windows (6:00 AM–3:00 PM) coordinated with the control tower and operating airlines, isolating the works from smaller-aircraft flights through temporary taxiway use, and sequential execution of milling, surface preparation and P-401 asphalt placement.
Operational Constraints
Partial closure of the main runway between 6:00 AM and 3:00 PM for ten days, with suspension only of wide-body operations and temporary use of the taxiway by smaller aircraft (propeller-driven, DC-9 and 727).
Technical Highlights
- Repaving of the main runway after more than 25 years of operation without major maintenance
- Removal of 15 cm of asphalt pavement with a self-leveling reclaimer machine
- Paving of 135,000 m² with 49,000 tons of P-401 asphalt mix
- Partial runway closure for 10 days (6:00 AM–3:00 PM) while smaller aircraft continued operations
Key Quantities
Photographic archive and field execution
Original photographic field documentation of road execution, structures, concrete barriers and earthmoving by Constructora Vialpa.
Field quality control and engineering verification during hot-mix asphalt (P-401) laydown, showing asphalt finisher, grading crew, and tandem vibratory roller on runway
Paving front in full operation on Runway 09-27: heavy asphalt paver receiving hot mix and line of dump trucks supplying continuous material under scheduled work window
Bitumen distributor truck applying tack coat adhesive spray with pressurized spray bar over milled runway surface, with El Ávila mountain range in background
Synchronized compaction train operating on Runway 09-27: multi-tire pneumatic rollers and tandem vibratory compactors ensuring regulatory pavement density
High-capacity crawler cold milling machine with conveyor discharging continuously into dump truck, removing 15 cm deteriorated layer from original runway
