Rocla was recently awarded the contract to supply culverts and bases for the rehabilitation of a bridge in Karino, Mpumalanga. The project, was in partnership with the contractor, ‘The Hope Mandate’ and Mbombela Municipality, who had embarked upon an infrastructural upgrade and maintenance programme.
Rocla Sales Consultant, Keegan Prince said “Rocla’s excellent reputation in the manufacture and supply of high quality pre-cast concrete culverts was a key reason for the company being awarded this bridge re-build contract”.
“We supplied 28 Rectangular Portal (RP) 2100mm x 2100mm Culverts and 28 x 2100mm RP Culvert Bases to this project. Our RP Culverts are particularly well suited for bridge and roadwork developments as they reduce construction time and associated labour costs due to their ease of installation and general suitability for stormwater drainage applications” said Prince.
The RP Culvert, which primarily allows for a waterway underneath a road, consists of a deck and two legs and is placed on a concrete base. This base can be cast in-situ or prefabricated.
Custom-Made Culverts
Whilst the Rocla Culverts supplied to the Karino bridge re-build were standard culvert sizes, special sizes can be considered for design and manufactured to customer specifications, however, minimum quantities might apply in order to off-set associated costs. For angled road crossings, culverts can be cut on site or skew culverts can also be considered for custom manufacture.
The standard strength classes for these culverts are 75S, 100S and 125S. Special intermediate strengths or heavier loading requirements can be custom designed and manufactured. These are subject to various material constraints, which can be evaluated by Rocla engineers on a case by case basis.
When there are project time constraints, Precast Concrete Base Slabs are more economical and a quicker option than cast-in-situ bases.
RP Culverts are also suitable for culvert crossings and can be used inverted as a drainage ditch, however, this modification must be advised at time of quotation request as the lifting holes are moved and the reinforcement layouts might need to be adjusted. Custom designed culverts have been used as tunnels, especially in mines, where a conveyor runs along the centre of the culverts underneath stock-piles, down incline shafts, in cable ducts, etc.
Rocla is a member of the Concrete Manufacturers Association of South Africa.
