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Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Moses Mabhida Stadium Rehabilitation Project - Mechanical Expansion Joints
- Client: eThekwini Municipality
- Consulting Engineers: DPA Specialist Consultant
- Main Contractor: WBHO – Construction (Pty) Ltd
- Subcontract: Remedials to Concrete & Expansion Joints
- Conditions of Contract : GCS
- Subcontractor: Smart Civils
- Duration: 10 months (Aug 2024 – Jun 2025)
- Contract Value: R24.5 million
Project Overview
Smart Civils was appointed to undertake the structural rehabilitation of several mechanical joints at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium. The works involved restoring the structural integrity of damaged beam nibs supporting suspended concrete slabs, installing new sliding bearings, and enhancing the structure with engineered steel augmentation brackets. All activities were carried out in line with stringent engineering specifications and under tight operational constraints.
Scope of Work
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Access & Temporary Works:
Custom designed back propping, access scaffolding, and jacking towers were installed to facilitate safe access and structural support throughout the rehabilitation process. -
Concrete Repairs:
Damaged and delaminated concrete was removed and reinstated using Sika Monotop 4012 via hand-packing methods with full surface preparation and curing compliance. -
Slab Jacking:
Hydraulic jacks were deployed to temporarily unseat slabs, allowing for the installation of new components before controlled reseating onto new bearings. -
Sliding Bearings Installation:
Precision saw-cutting and epoxy bonding enabled the accurate installation of stainless-steel sliding bearings using Sikadur 30 structural epoxy adhesive. -
Steel Bracket Augmentation:
Off-site fabricated “U”, “L” and “J” channel steel augmentation brackets were chemically anchored and fixed in place using Sikadur 30, following torque-controlled installation protocols.
Project Challenges
The project required careful planning and technical expertise due to:
- Complex access requirements within a live stadium environment.
- Strict tolerance requirements for jacking and bearing installations.
- Coordination around existing services and stadium infrastructure.
- Unexpected rebar clashes during anchor drilling, despite prior cover meter scanning.
- Frequent adjustments required to maintain alignment and structural integrity during drilling operations.
- Use of magnetic drill to create new holes on augmentation brackets due to rebar clashes.
- Redrilling of new holes on the existing concrete beam nib to accommodate revised anchor positions.
- Inconsistent existing beam geometry complicating the establishment of best-fit cut lines for bearing installation.
- Stepped bearing installation required to achieve a level surface for sliding bearings.
- Undulating slab soffit creating challenges in positioning and installing bearings accurately.
- Missing stirrup reinforcement in the concrete nib, requiring drilling and doweling of new bars.
Outcome
Although the project faced several technical and administrative challenges including delayed payment of invoices that slowed on-site production and delays in finalising the augmentation bracket design by the specialist engineer which impacted procurement processes downstream the team successfully completed works on three joints.
Despite these challenges, the project was delivered to the client’s quality expectations satisfying the specifications, with the structural mechanical joints elements fully reinstated for long-term durability.
