Zimbabwean Architecture

	Otto Beit (Chirundu) Bridge
Click link on thumbnail. More images...! View of underside of bridge... View from Zimbabwean side . .	Location	Chirundu (Zambezi River)
	Designers	Ralph Freeman
	Date	24 May 1939
	Original Client	Beit Trust , Trustees
	Style	Suspension bridge
	Discussion	The Otto Beit (Chirundu) Bridge spans the Zambezi River at the Chirundu border post between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The bridge was designed by Ralph Freeman - engineer to the Beit trustees - between 1937 and 1939. Freeman was also responsible for all the other Beit bridges in Zimbabwe, including the Limpopo, Birchenough (Save) and Zambezi. It was designed as a suspension bridge with two piers on either end at 320 meter (1050 ft.) centres. The steel piers stand 38 meters (125 ft) above the road level. The main road structure is consists of steel trusses suspended by steel tension cables. This main structure supports a five and a half meter wide reinforced concrete roadway, bordered by one meter timber footways on either side. There is a difference in level of 7m between the ends of the bridge - an unusual scenario for suspension bridges. The building was constructed by Dorman Long & Co Ltd, Middlesborough, and was opened on 24 May 1939. It continues to be the main thoroughfare especially for road haulage vehicles between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The town of Chirundu has grown from the spin-offs of having a hub of this nature at this strategic crossing point. . Ref. .
	Web Resources	. . .
	Credits	Mining and Engineering (Dec. 1989). .
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