Construction World December 2018

Civil Engineering Contractors

WINNER and SPECIAL MENTION in the AfriSam Innovation Award for Sustainable Construction

PROJECT INFORMATION

• Company entering: Concor Infrastructure • Client: SANRAL • Contract value: R830-million (excluding VAT & escalation) • Start date: 29 February 2016 • End date: 30 June 2019 • Main Contractor: Concor Infrastructure • Consulting Engineer: UWP Consulting

T he substantial project scope includes 11 bridges, 21 major in-situ culverts under the highway and over 130 smaller crossings constructed with precast portal and pipe culverts. Two of the bridges are built over rivers while two are over railway lines and two over arterial roads; there are also four agricultural over-passes and one underpass. In addition to the scale of this project – being conducted while high volumes of traffic continue to use this busy route – there were large complex structures to be installed and several section of the N2 highway between Mtunzini and Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal. The existing road is also being rehabilitated to form the future southbound carriageway. THE UPGRADE OF N2 BETWEEN MTUNZINI TOLL PLAZA AND EMPANGENI T-JUNCTION In one of the largest South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) projects currently under way, Concor Infrastructure is constructing a new double-lane northbound carriageway over a 34 km

rivers to be negotiated. The natural environment is also sensitive, requiring careful adjustment of plans to reduce the construction footprint. The project’s positive socio-economic impact in the area has also been considerable, with over 600 people at work. Perhaps one of the contractor’s most important contributions to the client was made even before the project began. An innovative proposal regarding project sequencing was able to achieve not only cost savings to the client but a three-month reduction in project duration. In addition, this decision had a positive environmental impact as earlier access to the existing road allowed greater use of recycled asphalt in the project and less use of virgin aggregates. The two large bridges over the uMhlathuze and the uMlalazi rivers are among the engineering highlights of the project. These comprise, respectively, a 240 metre, eight span structure and a 120 metre, four span bridge. The bridge piers were constructed on bases underpinned with 900 mm diameter piles in causeways pushed into the rivers. The 30 metre precast, post-tensioned beams were built near the work sites by a subcontractor supplied with concrete from an on-site batching plant. 

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