Vesconite used for first South
African bascule bridge at Cape Town.
Introduction
The unit is required to last for 100 years and has to withstand harsh environmental conditions such as wind and corrosion as well as strenuous operating conditions of opening and closing every 15 minutes under peak usage.
Vesconite is not subject to corrosion and has exceptional wear properties. All the intermediate joints throughout the bridge are bushed with Vesconite.
The stops on either arm of the bridge also incorporate Vesconite because of its high compression strength.
Vesconite was also used in the hydraulics which were specially made to operate under extreme wind conditions.
Technical details
This is one of the few bascule bridges in the world that has two separated spans
that interlock in the centre, as opposed to a single span that locks onto a land
based station.
The bridge spans 31.4m (103'), weighs 70t, is 3m (10') wide and conforms to the American Standards for Moveable Highway Bridges.
Updated Mar 28 2002
