Msikaba and Mtentu Bridges
Danish bridge expertise exported to South Africa
The Mtentu Bridge and the Msikaba Bridge, both designed by Dissing+Weitling, is part of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road project on the east coast of South Africa. The cable-stayed bridge design will have as little impact on the precious landscape as possible.
- Location
- Eastern Cape Province
- Category
- Road Bridges and Tunnels
- Year
- 2007 - In Progress
- Client
- The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL)
- Collaborator
- Halcrow (CH2M)
- Size
- 580 m / 1,130 m
The bridges will play a vital role in improving travel time, connecting previously divided communities in the region and opening up opportunities in business and community-based tourism for the Wild Coast. Once complete, the route will be approximately 85 kilometres shorter than the current route.
Call for experts
The size and complexity of the two bridges are beyond anything built previously in Southern Africa. The Msikaba Bridge is a 580 metres long cable-stayed road bridge spanning across a spectacular steep green gorge created by the Msikaba River. The Mtentu River Bridge is a concrete structure approximately 1,130 metres long comprising a 260 metres main span, plus approach viaducts constructed using incremental launching methods. The design and construction has created a need for highly professional bridge designers and engineers.
The project, which is commissioned by SANRAL – The South African National Roads Agency – has been on hold for almost a decade, but now the funding is in place, and the project up and running again. Project completion is expected for 2022.
Dissing+Weitling is also behind the award-winning Nelson Mandela Bridge, a railway bridge in central Johannesburg.
Mtentu Bridge