The Katima Mulilo Bridge (also known as ''Bridge 508'' in the Namibian Bridge Register) carries the TransCaprivi Highway over the

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

between

Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It is located in the Caprivi Strip. It had 28,362 inhabitants in 2010, and comprises two Constituencies of Namibia, electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

Sesheke Sesheke is a border town in the Western Province of Zambia, in a district of the same name. It lies on the northern bank of the Zambezi River which forms the border with Namibia's Caprivi Strip at that point. The Katima Mulilo Bridge, comp ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. It is a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

bridge, completed in 2004, 900 metres long and with 19 spans. It links Namibia's

Trans–Caprivi Highway The Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road (previously ''Trans-Caprivi Corridor'' and until 2004 ''Trans-Caprivi-Highway'', accessed on 27 August 2014.) runs from Walvis Bay, through Rundu in north eastern Namibia, along the Caprivi Strip ...

to the Zambian road network, forming a section of the trade route from south-central Africa to the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

known as the

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The c ...

Corridor (

Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road The Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road (previously ''Trans-Caprivi Corridor'' and until 2004 ''Trans-Caprivi-Highway'', accessed on 27 August 2014.) runs from Walvis Bay, through Rundu in north eastern Namibia, along the Caprivi Strip ...

). It also carries tourist traffic."COMMISSIONING CEREMONY OF THE KATIMA-MULILO BRIDGE AND THE LIVINGSTONE/SESHEKE ROAD, 13 MAY 2004"
Speech of Dr.

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...

at the bridge's opening ceremony, as published on th
Government of Namibia Network
, accessed 15 February 2005.

Requirement for the bridge

Pedestrians and passenger vehicles used to cross the river nearby by ferry. Plans for the bridge, the only one over the Zambezi for hundreds of kilometers, were first considered in Namibia in 1982, and the number 508 was allocated to the project. However, the occupying

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n government was opposed to the project and considered it an act of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

to build a bridge to independent, racially not segregated, Zambia. The initiator of the planning,

Klaus Dierks Karl Otto Ludwig Klaus DierksJoe Pütz, Heidi von Egidy, Perri Caplan: ''Political Who's Who of Namibia''. Magus, Windhoek 1989, Namibia series Vol. 1, ISBN 0-620-10225-X, pp. 203, 204 (19 February 1936 – 17 March 2005) was a German-born Nam ...

, was subsequently dismissed as Chief Bridge Engineer of the territory. Only after

Namibian independence The history of Namibia has passed through several distinct stages from being colonised in the late nineteenth century to Namibia's independence on 21 March 1990. From 1884, Namibia was a German colony: German South West Africa. After the First W ...

was planning resumed in 1990. The bridge was built entirely on Zambian soil because Zambia was a least developed country at the time and thus qualified for a grant to build it, while Namibia did not have this status and would have had to repay a loan. Today, this bridge is part of Zambia's M10 Road ( Livingstone-

Mongu Mongu is the capital of Western Province in Zambia and was the capital of the formerly-named province and historic state of Barotseland. Its population is 179,585 (2010 census), and it is also the headquarters of Mongu District. History Mongu ...

Road). It is a major point on the

Construction

As the bridge was built on Zambian soil, it is entirely part of

and is part of Zambia's M10 Route. When coming from the town of Sesheke, the entire bridge is crossed before the

border immigration is reached. In 2002 the

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

for construction was awarded to

Concor Concor Holdings (Proprietary) Limited. is a South African construction and mining services company. It is active throughout Southern Africa, involved in mining, civil engineering, building and road projects. Concor returned as an independent br ...

and

Hochtief Hochtief AG is a German construction company based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, with the bridge completed on schedule in 2004. The bridge was constructed using the German technique of

incremental launching Incremental launch is a method in civil engineering of building a complete bridge deck from one abutment of the bridge only, manufacturing the superstructure of the bridge by sections to the other side. In current applications, the method is hig ...

(''Taktschiebe-Verfahren''), with the deck of the bridge constructed on location then

hydraulically Hydraulics (from Greek language, Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is th ...

pushed segment-by-segment across the river. Concor Infrastructure Incremental Bridge launch 2003

Opening

The bridge was officially opened by the

President of Namibia The president of the Republic of Namibia is the head of state and the head of government of Namibia. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of Namibia, as chair of the Cabinet and is the commander-in-chief of the armed fo ...

, Dr.

, and

President of Zambia The president of Zambia is the head of state and the head of government of Zambia. The office was first held by Kenneth Kaunda following independence in 1964. Since 1991, when Kaunda left the presidency, the office has been held by seven othe ...

Levy Mwanawasa Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (3 September 1948 – 19 August 2008) was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corrupti ...

on 13 May 2004, in Katima Mulilo.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Project Profile at SMEC website
International bridges Road bridges Bridges in Zambia Bridges in Namibia Namibia–Zambia border crossings Bridges completed in 2004 Bridges over the Zambezi River 2004 establishments in Zambia 2004 establishments in Namibia Buildings and structures in Western Province, Zambia

Requirement for the bridge

Construction

Opening

See also

References

External links