Nice Côte d’Azur aiport is renovating its northern runway, without affecting operations

Like all airports, at regular intervals, Nice Côte d'Azur undertakes modernisation work or infrastructure renovation work. The restoration of the northern runway is part of this work.

It consists of planing a 20-35 cm layer along the entire length of the runway, measuring 2,420 metres, to then reconstitute the runway asphalt in order to obtain the load-bearing capacity necessary for air traffic over the next 10 years.

In order to limit the environmental impact of this necessary project, the airport has decided to reuse at least 20% of the material removed, and to install a concrete plant within the airport area as close to the worksite as possible. This temporary construction, in the zone furthest away from local residences, allows the airport to significantly reduce the number of construction vehicles, particularly concrete mixer vehicles, which need to enter the airport daily, and therefore move about within the vicinity of the terminals.

“The maximum reuse of the material removed and the construction of this temporary concrete plant are, for us, two important levers which aim to reduce the noise and atmospheric disturbance incurred by the construction work, which is part of a necessary and regular renovation policy for our infrastructure,” explains Franck Goldnadel, Chairman of the Board of Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur.

This construction work, for a planned duration of one month, will involve up to 200 people a day.
By taking place in January, it is possible to limit operational restrictions because all aircraft movements for the month – both take-offs and landings – can make use of the southern runway alone, which is the furthest from local residences.