New Runway on Huge Hybrid Structure: Tokyo/Haneda International Airport

The new runway (D runway) of the Tokyo/Haneda International Airport is located between the mouth of Tama River and the main navigation channel to Tokyo Port. One of the severe restrictions was that the new runway should not obstruct the flow of the lower reach of Tama River. In order to measure up to this requirement, a third of the new airfield was designed as an elevated jacket-type structure supported by steel pipe piles. The other two-third was designed so that it lies on the newly reclaimed land.The project was contracted between a joint ventured consortium and the Japanese government: Kanto Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. The consortium consists of 15 major Japanese companies: 6 general construction contractors, 3 steel companies, and 6 marine contractors. The contract was awarded for a combination of design and build. The agreement was concluded in March 2005 and the actual works got off to a start in April 2007.