Improvements to Pacaltsdorp interchange and new pedestrian bridge, N2 near George
Improvements to Pacaltsdorp interchange and new pedestrian bridge, N2 near George
The project was located on National Route 2 Section 7, within the Eden District Municipality, near George. SANRAL required the new pedestrian bridge because pedestrians were crossing the N2 at this location and, as footpaths could be seen on both sides of the cutting, local residents indicated that the western footpath, used by school children, should be joined to the other side by a bridge.
Client: Sanral and George Municipality
Contract value: R 82.5 Million
Duration: 19 months
Completed: 2015
Engineer: SMEC
Overview of the Project
The project was located on National Route 2 Section 7, within the Eden District Municipality, near George. SANRAL required the new pedestrian bridge because pedestrians were crossing the N2 at this location and, as footpaths could be seen on both sides of the cutting, local residents indicated that the western footpath, used by school children, should be joined to the other side by a bridge.
Scope of Work
The work included:
- Widening of the road bridge at Thembalethu interchange and improvements to approaches.
- Construction of a new pedestrian bridge consisting of 4 simply supported spans, two main spans of 20.5 m each over the carriageways with two jack-spans of 12.6 m long.
- The deck consists of 2 longitudinal precast concrete beams with precast transverse permanent formwork and in situ topping and cross-beams.
- A clear width of 2.35 m wide is provided on the bridge.
- The deck is supported on perched abutments and column type piers founded on spread footings on shallow residual granite.
Additional work included:
- Construction of stone-pitched side drains
- High mast lighting at both ends of the pedestrian bridge
- Timber post and double rail fencing between the pedestrian walkway and the edge of the cutting on the north side of the N2
- Openings in the existing road reserve fencing to allow access to the townships on both sides of the N2
- Clearvu type fencing.
Challenges & Successes
The works were executed with live traffic beneath the structure. The traffic accommodation was critical to ensure the safety of the road users and the construction team. The piers were constructed behind the safety of concrete barricades.
Hoisting the beams into position was completed under halfwidth traffic with a contraflow put in place and traffic diverted across the median to run in the other carriageway. This required careful planning and was well controlled. No incidents occurred and the beams were positioned without any hitches.
