bridges

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Van Stadens railway bridge – the highest narrow gauge bridge in the world

When the Apple Express used to run (and lets hope it will be running again some time) it always stopped at the Van Stadens Railway Bridge to allow passengers to walk across the bridge if they wanted to get photos of the train crossing it.  I decided to drive out to Van Stadens to look for two Geocaches at the bridge and got to visit it for the first time in over ten years.  The Van Stadens Railway Bridge is…

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03/04/2014
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One Van Stadens Bridge seen from another Van Stadens Bridge

Most people driving along the N2 over the Van Stadens Bridge west of Port Elizabeth have seen the Van Stadens Railway Bridge (the higherst narrow gauge railway bridge in the world) higher up in the gorge in the distance.  On a geocaching outing the other day I visited the railway bridge for the first time in ages and got to take a picture of what the Van Stadens Bridge looks like from the railway bridge's side.

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21/03/2014
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Bridge series #6 – N2 over Swartkops

This is the last of the posts in the bridges of Port Elizabeth series.  It shows the N2 where it crosses over the Swartkops River at Amsterdamhoek just before Bluewater Bay.  Very busy on top, nice and peaceful underneath.

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09/11/2013
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Bridge series #5 – Railway over Swartkops

This is post #5 in the series about bridges around Port Elizabeth.  There are several bridges across the Swartkops River with the oldest road bridge in use being the Wylde Bridge at Swartkops which was built in 1879.  The road bridge is a one lane bridge that is regulated with a traffic light.  This is the railway bridge right next to the road bridge.  Looks very similar to the Mackay Bridge in Colchester, doesn't it?

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08/11/2013
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Bridge series #4 – Brickmakerskloof bridge

Every couple of years Port Elizabeth tends to be hit by a flash flood which ends up causing more damage than the inhabitants of the city cares for.  In 2006 we had a biggy and in the process a couple of bridges on the Baakens River washed away, one of them being at the bottom of Brickmakerskloof.  The investigation on how best to replace the bridge along with a full on Environmental Impact Assessment took many many months.  Eventually construction started in 2009 with…

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07/11/2013
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Bridge series #3 – Van Stadens Bridge

This is post #3 in the Port Elizabeth bridge series.  The city's most imposing and best know bridge is the Van Stadens Bridge 35 km west of  the city and also situated on the western boundary of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.  The 125 meter high, 340 meter long bridge was completed in 1971 and is the first of a serious of large arch bridges between Port Elizabeth and Plettenberg Bay.  The others are the Storms River Bridge, Bloukrans Bridge, Groot River Bridge and…

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06/11/2013
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Bridge series #2 – N2 over Sundays River

This is post #2 in the Port Elizabeth bridges series.  Cars approaching Port Elizabeth on the busy N2 from the east fly across the bridge over the Sundays River with only a quick glance towards the river.  I often wonder how many don't even see it while I'm sure most don't know of the historic Mackay Bridge only a couple of hundred meters upstream.  With the increase of traffic on the N2 the road from Port Elizabeth to Colchester has been turned into…

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05/11/2013
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Bridge series #1 – Mackay Bridge

Port Elizabeth isn't famous for it's bridges but it does have a couple of notable ones.  Some historic, one imposing and a couple that are often used.  I collected pictures of a few of them and decided to put together a series showing you six bridges from around the city.  I'm starting with one of my favourite bridges, the historic Mackay Bridge in Colchester.  During the mid 1800's this specific spot was quite a popular one with travellers as it had…

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04/11/2013