Civil Engineering March 2022 | Vol 30 No 2

Civil Engineering March 2022 67 A call to service N ewly appointed president of Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), Olu Soluade, recently outlined his plans for the year at CESA’s annual Presidential Media Address. In selecting his presidential theme for the year, Soluade has focused his message on “A Call to Service”. “The construction industry was again the worst-performing sector in the economy in 2021. Whatever goals we are looking to achieve, whatever message we want to convey and whatever progress we want to make are underpinned not by the what, but by the how. We know what needs to be done to move our industry and our country forward – it is the way we do it which will define our success. I believe the time has come for us all to get involved in contributing to the economic recovery of our country.” Soluade believes that leading by example is the hallmark of great service. “This means talking the talk and walking the walk – with integrity and excellence. Successfully working in service for this public need will greatly aid in achieving our goals and motivating our industry”. In light of this, Soluade uncovered five core areas which will underpin CESA activities for the year ahead: 1. Increase advocacy efforts in the area of sustainable transformation in respect of race, gender, and technology in the sector 2. Maintain the standards of profession- alism and build on the levels of quality management while encouraging CESA members to integrate sustainability into the solutions offered to their clients 3. Improve on the business and advisory support to members and clients with an emphasis on best practice procurement 4. Continue efforts towards building and strengthening partnerships with government, private sector client bodies of members as well as with other stakeholders 5. Ensure that good governance and integrity prevail within the industry and profession, particularly among CESA members as the apex body for the consulting engineering sector in the country. “CESA is committed to acting in service of our industry and our country, to protecting lives and livelihoods, and to encouraging others to do the same. We remain available and willing to make sacrifices to achieve our vision. As a voluntary association, we are by nature in service and we call on others in our industry to set the example of serving with pride, integrity, honour, and discipline,” concluded Soluade.  Redevelopment of the Polokwane Eastern Ring-Road T he Polokwane Eastern Ring-road is an outer ring road that circles the city of Polokwane. The existing two-lane, single carriageway road was developed into a four-lane dual car- riageway to allow traffic to travel around Polokwane rather than through the CBD. The initial construction of the road began after the 2010 World Cup, with phase two – bridge redevelopment and construction – beginning in 2019. The main contractor on the project was Edwin Construction, supported by specialised applicator Bridge Jointing and Rehabilitation Contractors Pty Ltd, with Sika SA specifying the bridge rehabilita- tion products. The first step was to identify areas of corroding rebar, as well as defective and damaged concrete. The defective concrete was broken out and removed until good concrete was reached. The remaining concrete close to the perimeter saw cut edge was then broken out, leaving a nice clean edge to butt the repair mortar up against. The prepared concrete surfaces were then thoroughly cleaned and pre- saturated with potable water to saturated surface dry. Sika MonoTop®-412 NFG, a cementi- tious repair mortar, was applied to the re- pair area. This low shrinkage repair mortar is suitable for restoration work, structural repairs and for preserving or restoring pas- sivity to the steel reinforcement. A challenge on this project was the large number of graffiti and old posters, whose glue had to be mechanically removed by grinding. Bridge columns and abutments were treated with two prime coats and two topcoats of Sikagard®- 850AG, a permanent, anti-graffiti and anti-fly poster coating. This product facilitates the removal of what would have been permanent graffiti, using only water, without damaging the protection layer or requiring a refresher coat. Once treated, no flyer glue will bond onto the substrate. This unique product prevents ingress of water and other contaminants and protects against weathering, aging and UV rays. To protect against carbonation, bridge parapets and soffits were coated with a two-part, polymer-based, cementitious coating called SikaTop® Seal-107. To achieve a uniform colour for the entire structure, SikaTop® Seal-107 was applied on one of the bridges. This was a bit of a challenge as the bridge is approximately 10 m above the roadway and all work had to take place from below the soffit. This bridge redevelopment not only aided in job creation, but it has also made travelling around Polokwane more convenient.  CESA President Olu Soluade (right) and CESA CEO Chris Campbell (left) The repaired bridge on the Polokwane Eastern Ring-Road