Civil Engineering March 2021 | Vol 29 No 2

OVERALL WINNER AND WINNER IN THE BRIDGE CATEGORY New Replacement Swingbridge at the V&A Waterfront The V&A Waterfront (V&A), situated in South Africa’s oldest working harbour, had a swing bridge that was well-used and well- loved. It was an efficient structure that opened and closed up to 60 times a day, carrying up to 2.4 million people per year. It was, however, 22 years old and the 2 m wide walkway could no longer cope with the rising number of pedestrians. The team was therefore commissioned to design a new wider bridge that had to be as quick, efficient, effective, and reliable as the existing bridge. In addition, the construction cost had to stay within a tight budget and the works had to limit the disruption to the public, the V&A and the environment. Both steel and fibre-reinforced polymer were considered at the early stages of the project as the only materials that were light enough to limit the loads on the moving mechanical parts and to limit the foundation size. However, as the design progressed steel became the obvious choice. Structural framing The new swing bridge has a span of 40 m. The deck is cable- stayed with a single plane of four locked coil cables connecting to a central, upstand spine beam. The spine beam is a 500 mm wide fabricated box with a total depth of 800 mm, but only 470 mm protrudes above the top of the deck. The reclining pylon is in the continuity of the main central beam and its stiffness transfers the cable loads into the piled substructure. The steel with timber deck is rotated on a slewing bearing, which is stressed down onto a doughnut-shaped pile cap by 34 vertical Freyssibars. Steel Awards – standing strong in trying times The 2020 Steel Awards, hosted virtually by the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC), focused on innovation, positivity, and creativity during the current challenging times. While acknowledging Covid-19 as the biggest catalyst for change in 2020 and celebrating excellence in structural steel, calls went out for greater unity, trust, innovation, and collaboration within the steel industry in order to survive what will arguably be a few more tough years. Civil Engineering March 2021 41 KEY PLAYERS Client/Developer Waterfront Properties Architect Coasite Craft of Architecture Structural engineer SMEC South Africa Main contractor Steffanutti Stocks Coastal Steelwork contractor/erector Anchor Steel Projects