Massive new R1.7-billion megabridge being built in South Africa – Photos

The Msikaba Bridge is one of two new mega projects currently under construction in the Eastern Cape.

Spanning the Msikaba gorge and river located near the town of Lusikisiki, the new bridge is intended to significantly cut down on travel times for vehicles travelling between the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

It will bypass an 80km inland diversion that passes through Kokstad via steep winding roads, saving motorists 1.5 to 3 hours of travel time, depending on the vehicle.

The bridge is part of the South African National Road Agency’s (SANRAL’s) N2 Wild Coast Project, which aims to create a safer and shorter route for cars travelling between the two provinces.

It is being built in partnership with South Africa’s Concor and the Mota-Engil Construction Company.

The project was announced in 2019, and the bridge was initially expected to be completed between 2022 and 2023; however, it has encountered significant delays.

Early construction was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, and the project has been met with several ongoing challenges.

This includes cash flow issues and reported confrontations with South Africa’s “construction mafia” – organised criminal groups that demand a cut of the funds earmarked for infrastructure projects around the country.

Most recently, the bridge has run into production constraints linked to the massive segments needed for the main structure.

In April 2026, SANRAL’s Media Relations Manager, Lwando Mahlasela, said that the bridge’s construction had been delayed due to challenges with South Africa’s steel fabrication sector.

Mahlasela told Nova News that the deck segments for the bridge are being fabricated at Highveld in Mpumalanga, and that work has been impacted by the partial collapse of the country’s steel producers, such as Aveng Steel Fabricators, Genrec Engineering, and Endeto.

Because of these challenges, the bridge’s expected completion time has been pushed back to 2029.

An ambitious project

SANRAL stated that the Msikaba Bridge will be the longest span cable-stayed suspension bridge in South Africa once it is finished.

The cable-stayed design was chosen because the structure is entirely suspended above the valley, ensuring that the natural enviroment is undisturbed.

The main road will be located 194 metres above the river, supported by two 128-metre-tall inverted-Y-shaped pylons that serve as mounting points for 17 pairs of cables, according to Engineering News.

The pylons themselves are held in place by anchor blocks and an additional 34 pairs of cables.

Each block is 49 metres long, 10 metres wide at the base, and 17.2 metres deep, weighing 21,500 tonnes each.

“Through the cables, the mass of the deck (and the cables themselves) will pull forwards and downwards on the top of pier, the deck itself will push backwards into the base of the pier. The cables attached in turn, from the pier to the anchor blocks will pull backwards and downwards on the piers to partially counteract these forces,” explained Craig McLachlan, Sanral’s project manager.

“Therefore, logically the piers and the pier foundations must be strong enough to support both the downwards and horizontal components of these forces.”

The actual deck consists of 36 prebuilt segments, which require three trucks for transport and take three to five hours to offload each.

The project has already spent roughly R553 million on on 157 targeted enterprises comprising 44 suppliers, 52 service providers and 61 subcontractors.

Another R93 million has been spent on wages for local workers. 391 of the 453 full-time jobs created by the project are filled by locals.

Msikaba Bridge