For Parklands/Sunningdale residents the completion of the much anticipated Sandown Road extension opening up traffic to the M12 and N7 highway will be a relief.  This R64 million project, which includes a road-over-rail bridge as well as ancillary underground services, is fast nearing completion.

With less than two months to completion the main contractor, Brink & Heath Civils hosted a “bridge-wet” ceremony on 22 July 2013 on the newly completed bridge deck.

“The fact that this is been such an enjoyable project is attributed to the outstanding team cohesion and synergy throughout the project.  With just over a month to completion we thought this event to be an appropriate opportunity to show our appreciation to the entire project team, our client and the City of Cape Town.

On a more personal note – this project is a celebration of our growth as a company over the past five years.  Our ongoing investment in aligning our management capacity, human and capital resources, systems and business processes to our strategic growth strategy has paid off.  The successful execution of this project thus far is testament to this,” says Peter Heath, chief operating officer, Brink Heath Civils.

Construction of the 2,3km single carriage road linking Gie Road to the M12 which feeds into the N7began in September 2012.  This incorporates a 7,5m high road-over-rail bridge structure constructed using 42 precast beams, cast off site.  Precaution with the piling for the bridge had to be taken as the strategic fuel pipeline running from the Chevron refinery to Saldanha Bay runs in very close proximity to the bridge foundations. The beams were launched using a heavy duty crane, with the 49m x 13m deck cast on top.  Precast parapets will be erected to the sides.

The project is a joint initiative between City of Cape Town, ASKA, Garden Cities and Milnerton Estates, with the latter development companies being involved with several large developments in the Milnerton, Table View and Blouberg area.  The client’s brief was very specific that the aesthetics of the immediate residential environment is retained; this will be achieved with the installation of landscaping and lightingthroughout.