One of Margate’s memorable features – the bridge over the lagoon at Margate’s main beach – is being rebuilt.   The new concrete structure, which is being constructed by Afrostructures (Pty) Ltd, will replace the old narrower footbridge which finally succumbed to the forces of nature.
 
Holidaymakers and locals alike will appreciate the new two metre wide footbridge which has been designed to be wheelchair compatible and to easily allow one ‘lane’ of foot traffic in either direction.  Behind the scenes, the project has required a significant amount of bridge construction know-how. 
 
Afrostructures (Pty) Ltd Site Agent Roberto Lovisa says his firm, which has considerable experience with bridges, retaining walls and similar structures, used 45 MPa concrete from NPC Concrete in Margate Quarry.   “It’s a very strong concrete.  We needed at least a 35MPa in order to stress the beam.  The new bridge will be much stronger than the old one.
 
“We make our own cubes and take them to our lab in Pinetown where they crush the cubes.  All the test cubes have been crushed now and we have the results. This concrete is super.”
 
NPC Concrete’s Margate Quarry facility features a wet batch plant which supplies ready-mixed concrete for the region’s broad spectrum of concrete requirements.  Wet batch concrete is especially ideal, however, for large pours and high specification projects because the concrete is mixed in the plant rather than the delivery truck.  The standard deviation of wet batched concrete can be expected to be much lower than typical truck-mix which means that the materials are more accurately batched and mixed.   In the mix-design process one can more accurately target the desired strength (MPa), while reducing wastage.  
 
Margate’s NPC Concrete plant recently earned the prestigious Platinum Plus score (in excess of 95%) from the respected South African Ready-Mix Association (SARMA), the industry self-regulating organisation which annually conducts these audits.  The Platinum Plus achievement not only reflects NPC Concrete’s ready-mix product quality but its worker safety and environmental responsibility practices.   The company earned SARMA Gold and Platinum ratings in 2007 and 2008, respectively
 

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