Msikaba Bridge, Cable-stayed bridge near Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape, South Africa
The Msikaba Bridge is a cable-stayed crossing that spans a deep valley near Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape. The structure uses two concrete towers to suspend the roadway high above the landscape below.
SANRAL awarded the construction tender in 2017 to the Concor Mota-Engil Joint Venture, pairing South African Concor with Portuguese Mota-Engil at a cost of US$118 million. The crossing belongs to the N2 Wild Coast road project, intended to cut travel time between Durban and East London for heavy freight. The Danish firm Dissing+Weitling designed it; the Afrikaans source projects completion around the end of 2030.
The bridge crosses the Msikaba River at Nkcele, about 15 km upstream of the river mouth, just west of the Mkambati Nature Reserve in the historic Pondoland region. The N2 Wild Coast project it belongs to is intended to shorten travel between Durban and East London for heavy freight.
This crossing lies on the main N2 highway between two important coastal cities. Visitors can experience it while driving or view it from nearby vantage points along the roadside.
The bridge was featured in the National Geographic series "Building Impossible With Daniel Ashville", in episode 2 of season 1. During construction a temporary gondola lift carried workers between the two banks, cutting travel time across the valley. The deck is planned to stand 194 m above the valley floor, which would make it the third highest bridge in Africa.
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