Local municipalities in South Africa are operating under extreme pressure. Resources are limited and there is a drive to achieve greater efficiencies – to do more with less. The result is that municipalities are forced to focus on localised projects, around the immediate towns, which they can manage, monitor, resource and maintain most efficiently at a minimum cost.

Rural projects are less tangible; they are difficult to manage and carry high risk, dependent not only on the reliability of contractors and the availability of skilled labour, but also on changeable weather conditions and challenging remote terrain. For people living in rural areas, the resulting lack of investment in rural infrastructure compromises access to hospitals, schools and basic amenities, impedes social mobility and constrains economic growth.

The good news is that help is at hand; We have been working closely with local communities for over 50 years, and have seen, first-hand, the societal and economic benefits delivered by the installation of critical infrastructure in rural locations. We know what resources municipalities have available, we understand their challenges, and so, by default, we are well-placed to be able to provide them with the tools to deliver rural infrastructure quickly, safely and efficiently… helping them to do more with less.

One such project was a recent bridging project in Ngqakaqheni village, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Situated at the foothill of a large mountain range with a river surrounding it, a single access road was the only access route in and out of the village. Local economic activities relied heavily on road transport and during rainy season the village could be cut off for up to two weeks at a time. To overcome this, the local municipality, Mhlontlo, looked to construct a bridge crossing the river to enable safe access throughout the year. The village’s remote location meant that it would be very difficult to use a concrete bridging solution, which would require the use of heavy-duty construction equipment, which adds logistical challenge and time-dependent mixing and curing requirements on site. Mhlontlo Municipality turned to Mabey Bridge and South Africa representatives, ECM Technologies, for an alternative solution.

A Compact 200™, Mabey Bridge’s most popular modular steel bridging solution, was chosen as the ideal solution for the project. The core focus of Mabey Bridge’s C200 design is to simplify construction methods and construction costs on site, by minimizing the requirement for heavy and costly plant and equipment, making it possible to use unskilled labour effectively and sustainably. The C200 can service both pedestrian as well as vehicular traffic and can span clear gaps of up to 60 metres without the need for any intermediate supports. Designed with safety at the forefront, the C200 can also safely carry, in standard configuration, loads of 41 tons over the 60 metre gap, enabling access for heavier delivery vehicles to service start-up businesses and small enterprises in rural communities. Furthermore, Mabey Bridge’s steel structures are all hot-dip galvanised to ensure a long and low maintenance service life.

On the Mhlonto project, the single lane 40 metre long Compact 200™ was constructed in 7 days by a local contractor with a local work force, overseen by a Mabey Bridge Site Advisor, and delivered in partnership with ECM Technologies.

Now providing reliable, safe, access all year round for the rural community of Mhlonto, the project illustrates how simple, modular, off-the-shelf bridging solutions can offer significant savings in design, transport, resource, logistics and construction and also demonstrates how ease of construction and the use of unskilled labour, and minimum plant and equipment, can reduce on-site costs and minimise risk.

If you have a project like this, please get in touch. It would be our pleasure to help deliver peace of mind on each and every project you work on. Let us help you do more, with less.