Construction of the 350-m long, 30-storey steel arch at the Moses Mabhida stadium, in Durban, is set to begin soon, with the shipment of the first eight sections of the stadium's grand central arch having arrived in mid-March from Hamburg, Germany.

The steel arch will weigh 2 600 t and will be made up of 55 separate ten-m long pieces of steel that will be joined together. The arch is expected to be completed in the latter half of this year.

eThekwini municipality strategic projects unit and 2010 programme head Julie-May Ellingson says that the eight sections of the arch were transported to the stadium site over a three-day period.

Work on the arch will include preassembly and the painting of the arch segments.

"The segments will be joined in two batches of four, with one batch connected to the foundation of the southern arch's eastern leg, while the other will be connected to the western leg. The lifting of each batch of the four segments will take place in April this year," says Ellingson.

Ellingson stresses that the arch is not just an "impressive design" element, but an important "structural" element, from which the roof of the stadium will be suspended.

The arch and roof structure provide an efficient and cost-effective method of roofing the stadium, which Ellingson says compares favourably with other South African and international stadiums.

The 46 000-m2 roof consists of Teflon-coated fibreglass membranes and will be attached to the arch by 95-mm diameter steel cables. An 880-m long steel compression ring will maintain the structure of the roof and will be constructed around the perimeter of the stadium structure.

Ellingson reports that work on the R2,6-billion stadium is progressing well and is on target for completion in 2009.

Work on the concrete ‘bowl', which forms the base structure of the stadium, is "significantly advanced" and will be completed during the latter half of 2008.

A total of 108 000 t of concrete and 5 200 t of steel reinforcement have been used in the stadium's construction thus far. The project currently employs 1 934 people with two-million work hours having been achieved to date.

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