SANRAL bags top awards for excellence in concrete use
The partially-opened Umgeni Road Interchange in Durban is already a winner - not only with motorists, but also the Concrete Society of Southern Africa, which this week chose it as the winner of the prestigious Fulton Award in the category for civil engineering structures over R100 million in value.
KwaZulu-Natal also got a second chance to brag when the Stafford's Post Interchange on the N2 highway between Kokstad and Harding on the South Coast received a commendation at the same awards ceremony, for a civil engineering structure up to R100 million in value. This interchange is due to be completed by July 2015.
The double honours for projects undertaken by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) in keeping with its mandate from the government - to finance, improve, manage and maintain the national road network - speak highly of the quality of work on civil engineering structures.
Other SANRAL projects that were entered in the competition were the following:
* Isando Pedestrian Bridge; * Upgrading of three historic arch bridges over the Orange River; * The Warrenton Bridge; * Model Kloof Pedestrian Bridge and Walkway; * Construction of three bridges over National Road 8 at Thaba Nchu; and * Sundays River Bridge.
The Fulton Awards began as a tribute to the late Dr Sandy Fulton for his outstanding contribution to the understanding of concrete, its development, and improvement.
Dr Fulton was unquestionably one of the doyens of the international concrete industry with impressive achievements in research contained in 35 published papers. He left a legacy of scientific and technological advances in the construction industry.
The Fulton Awards continue as a celebration of the life and achievements of this remarkable South African. Through the awards, the Concrete Society of Southern Africa recognises and rewards excellence and innovation in the use of concrete.
The award is made symbolically to the structure and is presented to the entire team responsible for its construction, including the owner/developer, all professionals, and the contractors.
Logashri Sewnarain, SANRAL Eastern Region Manager, said the two most recent awards were a reflection of the high standard of work on SANRAL projects.
"The award for Umgeni Road Interchange is particularly significant because it shows that despite the many challenges faced, it was still possible to produce world-class infrastructure.
"The accolades are testimony to the fact that we can hold our own in civil engineering excellence when competing in the national and international arenas, and such recognition is much appreciated by everybody involved in the projects."
In making the award for the Umgeni Road Interchange, the Judges' Citation stated:
"This project is a showcase for the use of concrete in civil engineering infrastructure as it encompasses two incrementally launched bridges, three precast beam and slab bridges, two cast in-situ pre-stressed box girder bridges, a voided deck slab bridge and a conventional reinforced concrete deck as well as reinforced earth retaining walls and a rock-anchored sprayed concrete wall.
"The two incrementally launched bridges being constructed simultaneously and crossing each other were a first for South Africa as was the fact that the casting yard for the one bridge was a 20m high elevated platform.
"Uniquely shaped pier heads and excellent quality of the concrete finish enhanced the appearance of the structures.
"Both design and construction had to overcome the substantial constraints of being surrounded by residential and commercial properties, the Umgeni River, the existing high volumes of traffic through the interchange, multiple services and a Transnet gas pipeline.
"This project is truly deserving of the Fulton Award in the Category of Civil Engineering Structure greater than R100 million."
The citation for the Stafford's Post Interchange states: "This slender, post-tensioned portal interchange bridge deserves a judge's commendation.
"The unique slenderness of the curved deck with a slenderness ratio of a remarkable 36, compounded by the fact that the bridge spans at a 30^0 skew, resulted in significant design and construction challenges having to be overcome.
"The design of the bridge eliminated both bridge bearings and deck expansion joints, thereby ensuring a low maintenance structure for the client.
"The two-hour haul of concrete presented challenges in terms of logistics management and emergency intervention plans, particularly when carrying out the large deck pours.
"The result is a unique bridge which showcases how concrete can be used to construct an elegant maintenance-free bridge structure in a remote area."
The Umgeni Road Interchange improvement project with an estimated cost of R512 million is scheduled for completion in July 2015, but will largely depend on the contractor's progress on the site.
This strategic interchange at the N2 will allow free-flow traffic in all directions except the west to south movement, which will have an on-demand signal controlled intersection.
Two ramps leading onto the N2 southbound and northbound carriageways have already been opened, substantially relieving the current delays experienced by motorists.
For images of the project and queries, kindly contact [email protected].