Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai Airport, located in Chiang Rai, Thailand, is a vital transportation hub for the region. The airport serves as a gateway to the popular tourist destinations of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and the Golden Triangle. In recent years, the airport has undergone a major renovation and expansion project to modernize its facilities and increase its capacity. As part of this project, Dextra supplied over 180 tons of dowel bars to be used as construction joints for the airport runway pavement.

The construction of a runway pavement requires a significant amount of planning and preparation. One of the essential components of a runway pavement is the construction joint, which connects the individual concrete slabs together. Construction joints are necessary to ensure that the pavement can withstand the heavy loads of aircraft and the extreme weather conditions. Without proper construction joints, the pavement can experience cracking, spalling, and other types of damage.

Dowel bars are a critical component of construction joints, as they provide load transfer between the individual concrete slabs. Dowel bars are typically made of steel and are placed in the pavement perpendicular to the construction joint. They allow for movement between the concrete slabs while providing support and load transfer.

For the Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai Airport project, Dextra supplied over 35,000 dowel bars, totaling more than 180 tons of steel. The dowel bars were manufactured at Dextra’s facility in Thailand and were delivered to the construction site in stages to meet the project’s timeline.

The project has not only increased the airport’s capacity but also provided a safer and more reliable transportation hub for the region.