Since the building works were briefly halted due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic that led to a national lockout, the building of South Africa’s longest cable-stayed bridge ‘Msikaba Bridge’ is well underway.
Workers on the project are strictly observing social distancing and all the regulations put in place to ensure the safety of workers; Concor Infrastructure and Mota Engil construction a joint venture tasked on the project confirmed.
The Msikaba Bridge which is expected to be South Africa’s longest cable-stayed bridge upon completion will have a main span of 580m supported from a pair of 127m-tall pylons. The deck will be 194m metres above the valley floor, making it the third-highest bridge in Africa, eclipsed only by the existing Bloukrans Bridge with a height of 216m and the Mtentu Bridge which, when completed, will be 223m high.
The bridge over the Msikaba Gorge near Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape forms part of the N2 Wild Coast project being undertaken by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).
The Msikaba bridge will require 43 000 m3 of concrete, 2 700 t of structural steel, 1 090 t of cables and 3 100 t of steel reinforcing. The balance of works contained in the contract includes the construction of 1.5 km of approach roadworks on either side of the bridge.