Construction progress on South Africa’s new mega-bridges

Construction has progressed on the Msikaba Bridge, which is part of the South African National Roads Agency’s N2 Wild Coast project in the Eastern Cape.

The project includes the construction of two mega-bridges over the Msikaba and Mtentu rivers. When complete, the project will shorten the distance of the N2 Wild Coast Road by 85km and cut travel time by one and a half to three hours.

Once finished, the Msikaba Bridge will be the third highest in Africa at a height of 194m and the Mtentu Bridge the highest on the continent, at 223m. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2025.

It was paying careful attention to the environmental impact of the construction, the government said, through the N2 Wild Coast Region Biodiversity Offset Programme, extending the Silaka and Mkambati nature reserves and the creation of the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism.

But concerns remain over the giant kingfish migration up the Mtentu River. This is one of the world’s unexplained migrations, when giant kingfish gather before migrating down South Africa’s coast from Mozambique and up the Mtentu River.

At some point in the river, the fish begin to circle before returning to the ocean. No one knows why they migrate, but the construction could adversely affect this phenomenon.

Picures: Fikile Mbalulu/ Twitter

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