Page 109 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

s a i c e
WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE

• Lourens River bridge, Somerset West circa 1845 ◊ Below: Gouritz River Bridge
is believed to have been the inspiration for the original ◊ Bottom: Lourens River Bridge
coat of arms of the Cape Society of Civil Engineers
which after several name changes is now the South
African Institution of Civil Engineering. It was built
from quality Table Mountain sandstone and features
two arches of approximately five metres each –
another gap to the hinterland was bridged and still
exists.

34°03’51.75” S, 18°54’52.44” E

• Salt River Voortrekker Road Bridge may not be
very significant but as with many civil engineering
projects that undergo various rebuilds due to for ex-
ample, growing traffic demand, this 242 m concrete
bridge carrying six lanes of traffic, was the third one anchor arms supported on two trestles and a 56 m
built in the same spot. Of interest is that the two middle span simply supported on the two cantilevers.
forerunners dating from 1896 and 1931 respectively Maintenance of the steel was a major headache and in
were steel bridges. addition the capacity of the bridge was not sufficient
for the railway developments in 1925. This led to the
• Gouritz River bridges have been the receivers construction of a new 236 m long and 63 m high steel
of many accolades over the years. The original structure – a bridge for trains only. It remains the
inhabitants of the area adjacent to the river, the highest railway bridge in South Africa for 3 foot 6
Gouriqa tribe lends it, its westernised name. The river inch railway lines and is only surpassed by the narrow
drains a huge area including parts of the Great Karoo gauge railway bridge over the Van Stadens River
and the Little Karoo and near its estuary south of Gorge west of Port Elizabeth. The road bridge which
Mossel Bay it has cut a gorge approximately 70 m originally also carried trains, was replaced in 1977
deep. In 1892 the first steel bridge was opened and by a 300 m long and 80 m high, state-of-the-art,
it had the unique feature of carrying both trains and concrete design bridge.
road vehicles of the time over its 5 m wide deck.
It comprised twin 79 m long cantilever sections and 34°20′47″S 21°53′08″E

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