Runway 10-28 of the International Airport of Thessaloniki, Greece: The Implementation of an Extensive Embankment in the Sea

Abstract: The extension of runway 10-28 of the International Airport of Thessaloniki by 1000 m to the sea comprises the construction of a 5.500.000 m3 embankment with its perimetric armouring, ground improvement techniques, measures of inducing/accelerating settlement. The main construction issues stemmed from the fact that the embankment material was transported by sea, therefore it was built by equipment from the sea, as well as from the poor subgrade conditions (compressible clay) causing settlement of considerable size. A critical design parameter for the operation of the project was the attainment of primary consolidation and stabilization of the settlement rate at 3 mm/month, which proved very challenging because of wide fluctuation. The whole process of settlement stabilization took about 8.5 years to complete, secondary settlement being still in progress.