Bosch Holdings Enginuity ENGINUITY January 2018 | Page 7
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Linking Beacon Bay and Gonubie in East London
The Beacon Bay-Gonubie Link Road is a dual carriageway
road, planned to improve access to existing and future
developments around the Buffalo City Metropolitan
Municipality (BCMM) in East London.
Bosch Projects took over this project in 2017 upon acquisition
of THM Engineers EL (THM), who were originally appointed by
BCMM for the planning and design of the Link Road.
The project is a dual carriageway road comprising two 3.4m
lanes separated by a 4.0m wide paved median. The Qinira River
bridge crossing is a reinforced concrete dual span structure,
determined more by geometric considerations than by
hydraulics. The road classifies as Urban Arterial, with a design
speed of 80km per hour that drops to 60km per hour only on
the section west of the river, where access is restricted.
The road cross-section allows for intermodal transport, including
pedestrian walkways and cycle paths on both sides of the road.
Conflict of movements between motorists, pedestrians and
cyclists is avoided in the design.
Key environmental considerations include:
• Cuttings and fill embankments will be planted for erosion
control
• Innovative soil retaining systems to reduce the temporary
scar caused by construction work
• Aesthetics of the bridge structure were chosen to minimise
environmental impact at and surrounding the river bed.
Phase 2 now under construction and is as follows:
• 680m of asphalt dual carriageway
• A storm water management system including a reinforced
concrete major culvert
• Pedestrian walkways, cycle paths and a traffic circle
• Street lighting by an electrical sub-contractor.
The construction value of Phase 2 is R70.7 million and
completion is expected by December 2018.
André Naude - [email protected]