BAM RESTORES ANTARCTIC RUNWAY

PHOTOS: BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY AND BAM

Contractor BAM has completed the restoration of a 32-year-old runway in the Antarctic as construction winds down at the end of the austral summer season.

The work came as part of the modernisation of the Rothera Research Station, the UK’s polar science hub.

Engineering firms Ramboll and Sweco have been working alongside contractor BAM on the project since 2017, with work limited to each summer season when the Antarctic gets up to 24 hours of daylight.

This season, BAM completed a carefully sequenced resurfacing and restoration of the research station’s runway to its original length amid challenging weather conditions. The extreme conditions in the region had taken their toll on the runway over the last 32 years.

The new runway incorporates existing local rock materials from the previous wharf project as well as energy-efficient lighting, upgraded draining and a new aircraft turning pad.

Completion of a new science and operations facility, called the Discovery Building, is scheduled for completion in 2025. Work this season included internal work on partitioning for offices, a medical centre, plant room and storage areas. Externally, the construction team completed glazing and solar panel installations. They also installed new energy-efficient heating systems in four other buildings on the station. Now that the austral summer season is drawing to a close, modernisation programme team members working on construction will, for the first time, join the existing onsite winterers who operate the station under extreme conditions and prolonged darkness. These ‘overwintering’ efforts see joiners and electricians focus on the interior fit-out of the Discovery Building, preparing the facility for the next austral summer construction phase beginning in November.