Rocla Delivers Customised Solution for Gautrain at Mushroom Farm Park

Johannesburg – August 2009. Rocla, the leading specialist in precast concrete infrastructural products and solutions in southern Africa, has completed delivery of 25 massive reinforced concrete beams to the Bombela Civils Joint Venture for the closure of the Mushroom Farm Park’s access shaft in Sandton.

Sean McDonough Rocla Roodepoort Business Unit Manager comments, “The type of beams required are not standard within Rocla's existing product range, but we have the capability to engineer a customised solution that will deliver and meet the customer's requirements, and that is exactly what we did with the beams supplied for the Gautrain Project.”

The longest of the beams is 8400mm with a standard depth of 2000mm by 600mm wide, the heaviest in mass being more than 27 tonne, including reinforcing cage.

A special shutter was designed and fabricated by Rocla to accommodate the casting of seven different lengths required. McDonough explains “The shutter design was further complicated by the necessity of having lifting hooks cast into the beams both on the top and the sides and also protruding reinforcing bars which served as shear connectors between the beams and the insitu slab.”

On delivery the beams were lowered approximately 23 metres to rest on insitu concrete walls cast between the Gautrain tracks connecting Marlboro and Sandton stations. Permanent concrete shuttering was placed on top of the beams, on top of which was cast a 500mm deep insitu concrete slab.

The shaft will be completely filled with selected fill and finished with top soil to enable the complete rehabilitation of the Mushroom Farm Park, which is situated in close proximity to high value properties in Sandton.

As part of the Gautrain Precast Joint Venture, which was formed to facilitate the timeous supply of infrastructure products to the Gautrain project, Rocla, along with JV partners Infraset and Empowa – Grinaker LTA have also supplied several thousand tonne of precast pipes and culverts to the Bombela Civils Joint Venture.

Rocla's delivery for this further entrenches its position as the leading specialist in precast concrete infrastructural products and solutions in southern Africa.

More about Rocla

Rocla (Pty) Ltd, part of the Murray & Roberts group, is a leading manufacturer of precast concrete products for infrastructure, including pipes, culverts, manholes, poles and other related and customised products.

Rocla partners with customers to design and develop solutions for specific applications. With over 91 years of experience in precast concrete technology, Rocla provides extensive backup and technical expertise to its customer base.  Rocla has an extensive network of factories throughout South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, and is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company. 

Through the Rocla Academy, Rocla displays its ongoing commitment to Continuous Professional Development in the Construction industry. The Rocla Academy adds value by training to customers, contractors and engineering consultants. Being the only company that offers skills and competency training to external stakeholders, Rocla partners with its customers to add value and deliver service of a superior standard.