 Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | ZAR Road Bridge over the Klein Olifants River (Meijer Bridge) Celso GIRI: Contractor |  | ||||||
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Click to view map Coordinates: | Meijer Bridge - also Meyer Bridge - is one of the fine stone bridges built by the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. It was constructed in 1896 by an Italian contractor, Celso Giri. It is formed by two equidistant stone vaults, each spanning 18m. The site was surveyed in 1894, before Wierda’s recommendations that subsequent bridges be of stone construction. Wierda declared ‘De brug lever teen schoon geheel op en is met haar gelijkkleurige zandsteen een der fraaiste boogbruggen in Zuid-Afrika. The steelwork balustrading on the superstructure bears the marks of ‘Mitcheson and Kolbrunner Durban’. The bridge is named in honour of Isaac Joannes Meijer, who represented Middleburg in the Second Volksraad, the Executive Council of which passed the Act for its construction in 1865. It was proclaimed a National Monument in 1968, now a Heritage Resource in Mpumalanga since 1999. It is in a good state of repair but no longer does service, being replaced by a parallel concrete bridge. All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon. References:
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