http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/articl ... 2011-04-08
New Western Cape railway station built
By: Henry Lazenby
8th April 2011
Interlocking concrete block manufacturer Terraforce reports that its product was used to construct two 2-metre-high retaining walls of 265 m each in length for the new Century City railway station, in the Western Cape.
The construction of the station was one of the preconditions for municipal approval of the greater Century City property development, as it was stipulated that a viable passenger rail link to the existing Cape Town–Bellville–Stellenbosch rail line had to be created.
“The master plan foresaw a modern railway station facilitating easy pedestrian and bus access to the Century City complex, incorporating a park-and-ride facility. “The significant growth Century City has experienced, as well as South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, accelerated the imple-mentation of the project,†Terraforce project engineer Jeremy Leighton says.
Funded and supported by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), the developers of Century City and the Department of Transport, construction on the R45-million project started in October 2009 and was completed in January this year.
Prasa issued an open tender for a turnkey project, which was awarded to multi-disciplinary consultancy KV3 and the Superway Consortium. Subcontractor Decorton Retaining Systems was appointed to construct the retaining walls on the outside-facing sides of the two new platforms. These include ramps and a staircase structure to allow for emergency evacuation from the station.
“Owing to extremely water-logged conditions on site, a 700 mm × 250 mm raft foundation of rock, wrapped in filter fabric, was installed below the entire concrete foundation of the station.
“From this level, Decorton constructed a steeply inclined Terraforce L12 retaining wall, while simultaneously placing and compacting backfill, which was reinforced with ground stabilising geo-grid every 420 mm, and which is securely anchored within the blocks,†he explains.
“The top one-and-a-half rows of blocks are filled with concrete, creating a solid and stable base for the asphalted platforms,†he concludes.
Edited by: Chanel de Bruyn