Upgrade of Berg River Boulevard, Paarl
Upgrade of Berg River Boulevard, Paarl
The project involved upgrading 2.2 km of Berg River Boulevard between Lady Grey Street and Oosbosch Street from an existing two-way single carriageway to a two-lane dual carriageway, and widening the bridge abutments and piers at the Oosbosch Street bridge.
Client: Drakenstein Municipality, Paarl, Western Cape
Contract value: R 127.2 million
Duration: 18 months
Completed: December 2018
Overview of the Project
The project involved upgrading 2.2 km of Berg River Boulevard between Lady Grey Street and Oosbosch Street from an existing two-way single carriageway to a two-lane dual carriageway, and widening the bridge abutments and piers at the Oosbosch Street bridge.
Scope of Work
Berg River Boulevard was widened to a dual carriageway between Castle Street and Oosbosch Street, the existing stormwater infrastructure was upgraded and new drainage constructed to accommodate the dual carriageway. A new 355mm dia PE100 HDPE pipe will also constructed and connected to the existing network.
The existing Oosbosch Street bridge carried two lanes over the Berg River and the 104.6m long bridge was 14.5m wide, with 1.2m shoulders and raised 1.8m wide walkways for non-motorised traffic. The bridge abutments and piers were widened to accommodate a road width of 24.6m between parapets and required widening of 10.6m. This required 900 mm diameter bored cast in-situ piles using percussive drilling techniques with permanent casings- and 42 piles, some raked at 1:8, with 3.5m deep rock sockets. The bridge work was the first phase of the bridge widening with the bridge deck to be constructed later under a separate contract. Other works included streetlighting, new traffic lights, extensions and new footpaths and Linemarking.
Challenges & Successes
The number of underground services presented problems and a number of the services had to be relocated. Other challenges included the demolition and reconstruction of the boundary wall at the hospital while the hospital carpark continued to be used, and accommodation of traffic was a constant task as the road had to remain open with minimal effect on traffic flows. A major constraint required very close monitoring of the work in the Berg River as the environmental protection requirements were stringent. In addition, with Paarl being one of the oldest settlements in South Africa, the works were followed with great interest by the heritage foundation.
However, the site team managed these constraints well and maintained progress throughout the contract. At the close of the project Civils 2000 were honoured with the Dr Ivan Deacon Greening Award by the Drakenstein Heritage Foundation for the care exhibited and the number of trees planted as a contribution to the area.
