The Chirundu Bridge now consists of two road bridges side by side across 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 the small town of Chirundu,

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

and the village of Chirundu,

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. At this location around 65 km downstream from the Kariba Dam the river is about 400 m wide. The bridges carry the

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

to Lusaka section of the Great North Road, which extends between South Africa and East Africa, and was once seen as part of a

Cape to Cairo Road The Cape to Cairo Road or Pan-African Highway, sometimes called the Great North Road in sub-Saharan Africa, was a proposed road that would stretch the length of Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo, through the Cape to Cairo Red Line of British Em ...

. Chirundu is the only town on the Zambezi where two bridges cross the river.

The Otto Beit Bridge (1939)

The first Chirundu Bridge is the Otto Beit Bridge built in 1938-9 by Dorman Long and financed by the Beit Trust, which funded most of central and southern Africa's colonial era bridges including the

Beit Bridge Beitbridge is a border town in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The name also refers to the border post and bridge spanning the Limpopo River, which forms the political border between South Africa and Zimbabwe. The border on t ...

across the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountain ...

, the

Kafue Bridge Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe and the Copper ...

, and the

Luangwa Bridge The Luangwa Bridge is the only large bridge and the principal engineering challenge on Zambia's Great East Road, crossing the lower Luangwa River where it flows from the Luangwa Rift Valley into the Zambezi valley. The river is 250–400 m w ...

. The Otto Beit Bridge was the first modern suspension bridge outside the United States built with parallel wire cables. It has a span of 382 m (main span 320 m). As it was built two decades before the Kariba Dam, the engineers had to consider the annual Zambezi flood, now tamed by the dam: hence the requirement for a single span (which the second bridge did not need). It cost £186,000 to build and was opened on 24 May 1939 by Lady Lillian Beit, widow of

Otto Beit Sir Otto John Beit, 1st Baronet, KCMG, FRS (7 December 1865 – 7 December 1930) was a German-born British financier, philanthropist and art connoisseur. Life history and career Beit was born in Hamburg, Germany, the younger brother of Al ...

. The Otto Beit Bridge is a single-lane bridge, with traffic operating in alternating directions, leading to congestion. Secondly the maintenance of steel suspension bridges is considerable, with cables needing replacement when they corrode, and the age of the bridge also places restrictions on the loads it can carry. Consequently, Zambia and Zimbabwe identified the need for a second bridge.

Second Chirundu Bridge (2002)

The second Chirundu Bridge was built by the Kajima Corporation in 2000–2002 and opened on 12 December 2002. It is 90 metres upstream from the Otto Beit Bridge, using the same approaches and border control area. It is a two-lane, three-span continuous prestressed concrete box girder bridge, 400 meters long and 10.3 meters wide.Kajima Corporation News Web site
accessed 22 February 2007. The pre-contract services started around August 1999 and Nippon-Koei Co. Ltd were the project engineering consultants with Chodai Co. Ltd consulting engineers as bridge specialists. As counterpart contribution to the new Chirundu Bridge, both the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe were to upgrade their respective Border Facilities to enhance smoother flow of traffic and quicker processing of cross-border trading documents, with eventual view to convert the Border to a One-Stop Border Facility.

References

{{reflist Suspension bridges in Zambia Suspension bridges in Zimbabwe Bridges completed in 1939 Bridges completed in 2002 International bridges Zambia–Zimbabwe border crossings Bridges over the Zambezi River 2002 establishments in Zimbabwe 2002 establishments in Zambia Buildings and structures in Mashonaland West Province Buildings and structures in Southern Province, Zambia

The Otto Beit Bridge (1939)

Second Chirundu Bridge (2002)

See also

References