RAISING A BRIDGE FIVE FEET.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 1 June 1927, Page 8

RAISING A BRIDGE FIVE FEET.

i: hodksiax exgi x eejts ACHIEVEMENT.

BULAWAYO, .May 24. Nearly 20(10 miles from Cape Town, in the heart of Northern JUiodesiu, i lie engineers of the Beira and Nlashonalaiul anil Rhodesia iiaihvay.s have just accomplished a line engineering feat. The feat is that of lilting the railway bridge over the Kafue river a distance of oft., and the task has been accomplished without interrupting the traffic. The lvalue river is a broad, comparatively shallow and rather sluggish stream, but the excessive rains of last season caused the river to rise to ;t height which caused grave concern. The water submerged both piers and track and floating islands endangered the safety of the structure. If the bridge went the railroad to the Congo was closed. Hence the decision to lift the bridge above the possibe flood level. The bridge which spans the river is 1398 ft. in length, and consists of 13 spans, each over 100 ft long. The weight of the bridge is 010 tons. Considered as an engineering feat, even in lhi‘ heart of civilisation, the operation would he no mean piece of work ; when if is remembered that the task lias been accomplished 2000 miles in j lie interior of Africa it reflects much credit on all i onccrncd.