Page 53 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

s a i c e
GAUTENG PROVINCE

overlaid using the whisper course bitumen mix which The 80 km ring road around Johannesburg is most
incorporates ground rubber. This ensures a much probably the second largest carrier. A number of inter-
quieter and safer ride surface and at the same time esting components feature along these roads of which
contributes to sustainability in the sense that car tyres the Harper Street bridge is just one. This is the second
are reused usefully. biggest bridge in the world to have been built along the
gap that it had to bridge. It was swung across the free-
The most recent and most ambitious upgrade stretching way of six lanes on a Saturday morning with minimum
over 16 km including major extensions to intersections disruption.
is a feather in the cap of the civil engineering profes-
sionals of South Africa and the South African National Another interesting feature is that around downtown
Roads Agency (SANRAL) since about R25 billion of road Johannesburg the freeway is elevated and the bridge
works had to be done under full traffic loads and also decks are supported by columns with adjustable bear-
completed in a record time of about 36 months. During ings in case of subsidence due to the fact that much of
this time the construction also had to be suspended to these roads are on top of old gold mine tunnels.
accommodate the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. It
is a major achievement and quite amazing that in spite 31. Johannesburg inner city renewal and
of the adverse conditions motorists and other road us- recycling features many civil engineering components
ers just had to “grin and bear it” and even learned to including street refurbishment. A number of signature
travel at 80 km/h for a long time instead of flying along buildings including the Anglo American building which is
at 120 km/h which is the speed limit for most of the said to resemble a diamond and features an engineered
system. reflective glass outer skin. Several transportation
facilities co-exist with commercial and new residential
In spite of the rail network most of the commuting developments within old commercial buildings. The
in Gauteng is done by means of road traffic and it is new Rea Vaya project features a fast bus operation
estimated that some parts of the system, like the Ben accommodating cars and buses on the same street
Schoeman highway between Pretoria and Johannesburg reserve and mid street state-of-the-art bus station. Civil
carries about 300 000 vehicles per day. engineering obviously also provides for the structural
frameworks for buildings.

◊ Gauteng Freeway System

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