Upgrades At Sydney Airport

[David Wallace]

Forgive my ignorance, but I was at the mound today and noticed several cranes that appeared to be working in the vicinity of the International Terminal Carpark. I haven't been around Sydney Airport for about a year. Are these cranes within the confines of the airport or are they outside the airport and the angle of the photo just makes them appear to be next to the airport?

Sorry if this has already been discussed.

[Andrew McLaughlin]

Originally Posted by David Wallace

Forgive my ignorance, but I was at the mound today and noticed several cranes that appeared to be working in the vicinity of the International Terminal Carpark. I haven't been around Sydney Airport for about a year. Are these cranes within the confines of the airport or are they outside the airport and the angle of the photo just makes them appear to be next to the airport?

Sorry if this has already been discussed.

Building the new Int'l terminal multi-story carpark and office buildings I think. Nigel may be able to give more info.

Cheers

[Andrew C]

The 2 cranes you see are @ the International terminal they are part of the redevelopment of the Terminal.

[Nigel C]

The 2 Andrew's got it right...mostly.

The crane behind the international termnal is building the car park. I don't think it has much more work to do...the building looks nearly ready as far as I can tell.
The other 3 cranes (1 established hammerhead tower crane, one semi-mobile crane and one hammerhead tower crane under construction) are all there for the Bay 20/22 retail and baggage redevelopment project.
From www.sydneyairport.com

Key elements of the expansion and upgrade include:

Expansion of the departures level of the International Terminal by 7,300 square metres
Redevelopment of approximately 30,000 square metres of the existing departures level
Centralisation of the security screening area and outbound border control (Australian Customs Service and Department of Immigration). This will provide operational efficiencies to better handle increased passenger numbers and large tour groups
World class food & beverage offering and enhanced shopping. This meets the needs of passengers for these services – especially the 75% of passengers who do not have access to airline lounges
A new outbound baggage handling system and early checked baggage storage system
Three new arrivals level baggage reclaim carousels to cater for increased A380 capacity
More waiting areas and additional seating for passengers
An additional 120 metres of moving walkways
Improved way finding signage and upgrades to toilets, ceiling and floor finishes

[Scott Lindsell]

Originally Posted by Nigel C

The 2 Andrew's got it right...mostly.

The crane behind the international termnal is building the car park. I don't think it has much more work to do...the building looks nearly ready as far as I can tell.
The other 3 cranes (1 established hammerhead tower crane, one semi-mobile crane and one hammerhead tower crane under construction) are all there for the Bay 20/22 retail and baggage redevelopment project.
From www.sydneyairport.com

So for we out of towners, how tall is this parking garage and does it afford views in its own right?

Nige, Did you get regos of the cranes? You knowledge of them was most impressive even if I haven't got a clue what your talking about

Scott.

[David Ramsay]

Isn't a crane something Nigel fires bird frite at?

[Mark D]

I think the crane drivers have just found a devious way to get free parking, or pick up arriving passengers!

[Nigel C]

G'day Scott,
The parking station (not yet opened) is about 10 stories high. From rooftop level it'd probably be a reasonable vantage point, albeit a little far away from 'the action'.

A tower or hammerhead crane looks like this...


The semi-mobile one looks like this...


I probably spoke to up to a dozen crane operators today, from on airport to Kurnell, Alexandria, Hurstville and other surrounding suburbs. They have to log in and out with us each day, and some of them have very specific operating permits which can be dictated by things such as weather, runway usage etc. Notams are also raised that cover the locations of cranes.

If a crane goes up without our knowledge or permission, the penalties can be very severe. If they pop up in the wrong place, runways can be deemed unavailable, they'll get a visit from us, and if they refuse to comply, the Police can become involved.

So in a nutshell, yes, I have to have a reasonable knowledge of what particular cranes look like. The approval for each crane tells us what type of crane it is, so when it goes up in a surrounding suburb, we can identify it.


David, behave yourself!

Cheers
Nigel

[David Ramsay]

And this is a crane that Nigel fires bird frite at.

[Nigel C]

They became extinct around the airport a long time ago.
W!lly Wagtails are far more of a challenge...