Table of ContentsIntroductionBackgroundParties InvolvedReasons for CollapseKey Engineering Lessons LearnedConclusionRecommendationsThe Injaka Bridge project was taking place in a small town called Bushbuckridge in South Africa. It was proposed to be a seven-span steel structure of 300 m. In July 1998, it was being constructed using the phased launch method when a disaster struck and the bridge collapsed. The bridge collapsed for many reasons, mainly due to the lack of qualification and experience of the engineers involved in the project. Their lack of experience and negligence essentially resulted in the deaths of 14 people and the injury of 19 others who were on site that day. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayIntroductionBackgroundThe Injaka Bridge is a bridge proposed for construction over the Ngwaritsane River in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, an eastern province South. Africa. The bridge was proposed to be a continuous seven-span prestressed steel structure with a total construction length of 300m and was designed to be constructed using a method known as the launching method incremental. This method involves building a section of the deck, attaching a nose to that section, then pulling both units forward. This process is then repeated until the bridge reaches the desired length. The steel nose attached to the forward end of the first segments had the function of reducing the cantilever moment, the corresponding shear force and the downforce reactions during launch. To allow the bridge units to slide on top of the bridge supports during the process, the two temporary sliding supports were used in conjunction with the permanent supports.Parties involved“The owner of the works was the Ministry of Water and Forestry. VKE consulting engineers have been appointed by the owner to design the bridge which will span the Ngwaritsane River near Bosbokrand. The contractor, Concor Holdings (Pty) Limited, was appointed to design the temporary works using design information obtained from VKE and to construct the structure. "Bridge collapseOn July 6, 1998, the Injaka Bridge collapsed abruptly during the construction process. The bridge was constructed using the soft launch method which, if managed and supervised properly, is expected to be a smooth process Unfortunately, on this day, for several simple reasons, as the bridge section was launched, the bridge section and the forward section failed and collapsed. The event that triggered the collapse of the. Injaka Bridge was struck through the lower slab of the bridge deck by one of the supports from below, caused by poor positioning of the sliding path. When the bridge collapsed, many people were present. on the platform (including the bridge's designer, Ms M Gouws), which unfortunately resulted in the death of 14 people and the injury of at least 19 others. Reasons for the collapse The Injaka Bridge collapsed. collapsed due to several fundamental errors that could easily have been avoided if normal design and project management principles had been applied. The causes of the collapse resulted from a long list of defects and can be summarized as follows: Insufficient experienced staff and supervision Unsound launch nose M Gouws, under the direct supervision of Bischoff (head of structural engineering at VKE ). For all practical purposes, the design of the bridge was.