Wolin

Ellory Wolin

Nelson Mandela Bridge The Nelson Mandela bridge is located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The bridge is very long measuring 284 meters long, which is about 932 feet. The Nelson Mandela bridge is a suspension bridge, which allows it to have a very unique, beautiful, and sturdy design.The bridge is evidentaly asymmetrical in its appearance and measurements because it is varies in length and height at different parts of the bridge. The back span on the North side of the bridge is 66 meters, the back span on the South side of the bridge is 42 meters, and the main span is 175 meters. The North side is 42 meters high and the South end is 27 meters high. The Nelson Mandela Bridge connects the Newtown CUltural Precinct with Braamfontein, and goes over many railroad tracks and train stations.The bridge has two traffic lanes, sidewalks on either side, and a bicycle path, making it extremely friendly to South Africa's citizens. The construction of the Nelson Mandela Bridge began in 2001 and ended in 2003. It is made of pylons, which are concrete filled steel tubes, and deck, which is steel reinforced concrete. A major challenge they engineers and constructions workers encountered was due to the thinness of the bridge and its pylons. They didn't have enough workspace to build without putting too much stress on parts of the bridge that weren't prepared for it. They solved it by creating a rationing routine to follow each day of how much tension the bridge could handle. The beautiful Nelson Mandela Bridge cost 38 million Rands or $315,207.28, but it was well worth it because today in Johannesburg, South Africa a remarkable structure stands being admired by the world around it.