UK CONSTRUCTIONS PROJECT DOCUMENT

UK Constructions Project Document

UK Constructions Project Document

Heathrow Terminal 5

The construction of the Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 (T5) in London was approved by the Secretary of State on 20 November 2001, after the longest public inquiry in British history (46 months). The planning process itself cost nearly £63m over a period of 14 years. This cost was borne mostly by the British Airports Authority (BAA) and British Airways, the two main proponents of the project.

In 2007 it was announced by the Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly that there would be a sixth terminal at Heathrow as well as a 2,200m third runway and this will be underway by 2020. Public consultation on the proposed project is currently underway.

Terminal 5 contractors

Terminal 5 was a large infrastructure project involving over 60 contractors, 16 major projects and 147 sub-projects on a 260ha site. With such a project BAA realised that if the projects were to be built on time and within budget that a unique approach would be required. The T5 Agreement was the result and is a legally binding contract between BAA and its key suppliers. Through the agreement BAA accepted that it carried all of the risk for the construction project. This allowed the contractors to concentrate on the project and solving problems rather than avoiding possible litigation for problems arising and time delays.

Terminal and control tower

By November 2006 the construction of T5 was 80% completed. Ten new aircraft stands had been delivered (four capable of handling the new A380 superjumbo) along with 120,000m² of taxiway.

Two of the major projects which were ahead of schedule included the new terminal building itself and the new aircraft control tower. In April 2004 the first section of the 'single wave' roof (2,500t) of the T5 building was lifted into position and by March 2005 the sixth and final section of the roof was in position. The final roof weighed a total of 18,500t and contained 22 steel box section rafters supported by 11 pairs of supporting abutments.

The main terminal building (housing concourse A) is 396m long, 176m wide and 39m high and contains 80,000t of structural steel, while a satellite building (housing concourse B) adjoining this is 442m long, 42m wide and 19.5m high. The terminal contains 175 lifts, 131 escalators and 18km of conveyor belts for baggage handling. A strict ban was placed on any construction activity over 43m high without prior arrangement in case it interfered with Heathrow radar. Phase one of the project provides 47 aircraft stands and phase two will provide a further 13 to make a total of 60.

The cone, which contains the control room, is supported on top of an 85m-high, 4.6m-diameter triangular steel mast anchored to the ground with three pairs of cable stays. The steel mast contains two lifts (one internal and one external) to provide access to the control room. The control tower was built in 12m-high sections (the cone being raised by special jacks 12m at a time) and became operational during the ...