Bridge replacement, rehabilitation an urgent focus in Joburg

20 April 2023
Many of the City of Johannesburg’s bridges are in poor condition, according to the Johannesburg Roads Agency’s (JRA’s) 2021/2022 Annual Report. The JRA highlights that 14 bridges have been flagged as ‘high priority’ and only 5.77% as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. More than 94% are classified as ‘fair’, ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. As a result, the city has embarked on various bridge replacement and rehabilitation projects.
Document Downloads 
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document iconBridge replacement rehabilitation an urgent focus in Joburg_approved27.18 KBDownload
PreviewA challenge of emergency bridge projects is to mobilise plant and personnel to site.2.22 MBDownload
PreviewA range of plant and equipment allows Jet Demolition to provide respond rapidly to emergency projects.2.1 MBDownload
PreviewBridge demolition features increased risk and high-pressure conditions.449.59 KBDownload
PreviewBridge-demolition projects are typically on a turnkey, rapid-demolition basis.5.53 MBDownload
PreviewPlanning, expertise essential for high-risk bridge demolition projects3.95 MBDownload
PreviewJet Demolition Contracts and Project Manager Kate Bester395.2 KBDownload

Fast-track, high-pressure bridge demolition projects, where timeous completion and safety performance is critical, is a specialised area of expertise for Jet Demolition. “Here the increased risk and high-pressure conditions lend themselves to our specific set of expertise,” comments Jet Demolition Contracts and Project Manager Kate Bester.

Bridge-demolition projects are typically on a turnkey, rapid-demolition basis. The company’s innovative, state-of-the-art and technically advanced methods and machinery allow it to tackle the most demanding and complex bridge demolition projects.

These range from all aspects of road safety – from temporary road closure design and implementation, to extensive communication and consultation with the general public, and liaison with all relevant authorities – to engineering suitable demolition methods, planning for unforeseen circumstances, and final road clearing.

Emergency demolition is often required where bridge stability or safety is compromised by an unforeseen event, such as traffic accidents that have impacted on a bridge structure, or vandalism causing structural stability concerns. Emergency bridge projects invariably impact on the travelling public as these are, by nature, unplanned and unforeseen.

“One of the biggest challenges on an emergency bridge project is to mobilise our plant and personnel to the works. If a bridge is suddenly compromised, all traffic in the immediate area is gridlocked, until such time that alternative routes are made available. Under these circumstances, we rely heavily on the assistance of traffic authorities to provide emergency escorts to the site, fast-tracking the establishment of plant and personnel,” explains Bester.

Any form of emergency work is always a concern, as the structural stability of the collapsed or endangered structure is unknown. It is thus critical to have seasoned and experienced demolition personnel on-site as soon as practically possible to thoroughly assess, manage and mitigate the relevant risks.

Often the first responders to an emergency project include operations and engineering team members, who assess the initial risk and provide feedback to head office, advising as to the envisaged methods and resource requirements.

Jet Demolition’s strength lies in its people and plant. Its crews are disciplined, experienced and responsible, with a focus on keeping all team members safe during the most challenging projects. “Furthermore, our redundancy and variety of plant and equipment allows us to respond rapidly to emergency projects, with demolition typically being able to commence within a few hours of the initial incident,” concludes Bester.

Pull quote

“One of the biggest challenges on an emergency bridge project is to mobilise our plant and personnel to the works.” – Kate Bester, Contracts and Project Manager, Jet Demolition

Social Media

Twitter

Fast-track, high-pressure bridge demolition projects, where timeous completion and safety performance is critical, is a specialised area of expertise for #JetDemolition.

Ends

Connect with Jet Demolition on Social Media to receive the company’s latest news
Facebook
: https://www.facebook.com/JetDemolition/?ref=br_rs
LinkedIn
: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jet-demolition-pty-ltd/

Notes to the Editor
To download hi-res images for this release, please visit http://media.ngage.co.za and click the Jet Demolition link to view the company’s press office.

About Jet Demolition

Jet Demolition has been undertaking industrial demolition works since 1994, and is the leading, largest, and most technically advanced demolition company in Africa. It offers in-house, full-range demolition services, including advanced mechanical solutions and controlled implosions. It actively pursues ongoing development of skills and equipment suited to the changing needs of the industry.

Jet Demolition is a technically based company, with various staff members holding MSc, BSc, and BTech Degrees, as well as National Diplomas, in various engineering fields. This expertise gives it the technical foundation to successfully engineer solutions for large and complex demolition projects, and furthermore fuels its drive to deliver quality projects safely. Jet Demolition strives to offer its clients innovative and technical solutions to demanding demolition challenges.

Jet Demolition Contact

Kate Bester (N.Dip. Civil Engineering, PMP)

Contracts and Project Manager

Phone: (011) 495 3800

Cell: 072 811 5310

Email: kate [at] jetdemolition [dot] co [dot] za

Web: www.jetdemolition.co.za

Media Contact

Rachel Mekgwe

NGAGE Public Relations

Phone: (011) 867 7763

Cell: 074 212 1422

Email: rachel [at] ngage [dot] co [dot] za

Web: www.ngage.co.za

Browse the NGAGE Media Zone for more client press releases and photographs at http://media.ngage.co.za