Sydney Metro Airports has commenced work on re-sheeting Bankstown's main runway.
Anyone who has been out at Bankstown Airport in the last couple of days will have noticed all the work trucks milling around on the airfield, where they’ll remain until the expected completion date of the project on May 19.
Until completion of the project, operations will be limited to runways left and right, however runway centre will be available for use as per normal from 1730 overnight to 0700 the next day for the duration of the project. The work will be put on hold over the weekends, during which operations won’t be affected.
The work extends to patching distressed areas, profiling, re-sheeting and shoulder reconstruction of the eastern half of the centre runway. The $1.5 million project will improve the quality of the main runway and represents a significant financial commitment to aviation at Bankstown Airport. Read the full Method of Works Plan for the project here.
At the same time, additional work will be undertaken on the airfield including taxiway maintenance and the replacing of a number of cones and gable markers throughout the airport.
In a recent interview with Australian Flying, Sydney Metro Airports CEO Kim Ellis said much of the funding for the re-sheet project has come from revenue from non-aviation businesses on the airfield. The issue of non-aviation businesses moving onto GA airfields has raised a lot of passionate and ongoing debate from the various stakeholders involved, and you can read more on this subject in the forthcoming Jul/Aug issue of Australian Flying.