Nelson Mandela Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nelson Mandela Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Carries | Road and pedestrian traffic |
| Crosses | Railway yard (42 lines) |
| Locale | Johannesburg |
| Longest span | 176m |
| Total length | 284m |
| Height | 27m |
| Opening date | 1984 |
| Maps and aerial photos | |
The Nelson Mandela Bridge is a bridge in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was completed in 2003 with an R38 million price tag. The proposal for the bridge was to link up two main business areas of Braamfontein and Newtown as well as to rejuvenate and to a certain level modernize the inner city, which is an initiative by a company, Blue IQ. The bridge was constructed over 42 railway lines without disturbing railway traffic and is 284 metres long.
There are two pylons, North and South, and are 42 and 27 metres respectively. Engineers tried to keep the bridge as light as possible and used a structural steel with a concrete composite deck to keep weight down. Heavier banks along the bridge were reinforced by heavier back spans. The bridge consists of two lanes and has pedestrian walk-ways on either side. The bridge can be viewed from one of Johannesburg’s most popular roads, the M1 highway.
Of recent times it has been known the many copper wiring has been stolen from the bridge which has causes tighter security measures, including full 24-hour video surveillance of the bridge.
