Did you know: Nelson Mandela Bridge
BRAAMFONTEIN – The city of Joburg is proud of its award-winning creation.
If you’ve ever visited Johannesburg – and maybe even if you haven’t – you would know of the Nelson Mandela Bridge that stands over the Metro Train Depot and connects two bustling areas of the city.
While everyone knows who Mandela was and why this structure, and symbol of strength, was named after the great struggle icon, there may be some facts about the bridge that you’re not aware of.
Did you know that the beautiful bridge, which is lit each night, boasts a number of impressive accolades?
The Nelson Mandela Bridge was officially opened for use by commuters 13 years ago, on 20 July 2003, spanning 284m, becoming the largest cable-styled bridge in southern Africa and connecting Braamfontein to Newtown.
Just over one year later, the bridge was commended for its design and was awarded the Excellence Award for the Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Project Achievement by the South African Institute for Civil Engineers.
So why would people outside of the City of Gold be aware of the impressive structure between Newtown and Braamfontein?
Besides all its impressive awards and acknowledgements, it has been the backdrop for a number of famous musicians’ music videos.
Who can forget when AKA, Da LES and K.O. shut down the town and literally brought traffic in the city to a standstill as they closed off the bridge for the filming of the music video for the hit song, Run Jozi?
Even more exciting than AKA filming a music video in the city was when international hip-hop sensations, who brought us songs such as No Flex Zone and No Type, Rae Sremmurd, recorded parts of their This Could Be Us music video on the Nelson Mandela Bridge.
It’s definitely a landmark to be proud of, so if you haven’t already seen it, get down to the city and check it out today.
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