Page 82 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

s a i c e
MPUMALANGA PROVINCE

seen after the trenches have been closed, but beneath ◊ Below: Mbombela Sports Stadium
the typical Highveld landscape many services crisscross ◊ Bottom: Paul Kruger
this province.
4. Mbombela Sports Stadium is one of the
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa venues and seats
41 000 spectators. As is the case with the other new
stadiums this is another signature design facility.

25°27’42.14” S, 30°55’47.00” E

5. Environmental awareness is or should be at
the top of the agenda in this province as tourism and
highly industrial activities have to exist side by side. In
Mbombela, a small but impressive project transformed
an ugly, polluted and eroded stream in the middle of
town to a lush mini-wetland with bull rushes complete
with provision for birds nesting in the embankments.
Although expensive, it showcased the abilities of civil
engineering to restore nature to its best after it was
destroyed by human neglect and ignorance.

6. Tourism and civil engineering are synony-
mous and this province has more than its fair share of
roads and passes that delight the traveller.
7. Paul Kruger. The South African president in
the late 1800s realised that his only routes to the sea
were via two British colonies and that this independent
Republic was at risk. A great railway line was then built
to the then Delagoa Bay – a modernised line still used
today. A number of beautiful stone arch bridges still
exist and at Waterval Boven the old tunnels through
which a ‘cog wheel locomotive’ had to negotiate the
steep gradients, is a popular stopping place for tour-
ists. Around 1968 the first long welded rails in South
Africa were constructed near the Kruger National Park
at Klaserie and two 7 km sections were finalised. This
technology of course caused the disappearance of the
clickety-clack of the train wheels across joints on the
old railway lines but on the other hand greatly improved
the riding experience and the reduction of maintenance dams are serving the mining and manufacturing needs
going with it. and the vast agricultural activities of the province that
produce vegetables, litchis, sugar cane and bananas by
the ton.
25°39′ S, 30°20′ E

Loskop Dam: 25°26’00.00” S, 29°18’00.00” E
8. Dams are dotted around this province – from
the venerable Loskop Dam built to create jobs and
farming opportunities in Groblersdal to one of the most Blyde River: 24°35’00.00” S, 30°49’00.00” E
beautiful dams in the Blyde River, close to a prime tour-
ist area contributing to the postcard scenery. Other

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