Africa's leading manufacturer of energy efficient luminaires, BEKA Schréder, has recently completed lighting the BRT Bridge on the M1 highway.

Rea Vaya's new route will form the backbone of Johannesburg's Louis Botha Development Corridor, connecting Alexandra not only to central Johannesburg but also to its neighbor, Sandton.

When BEKA Schréder was approached to do a lighting design for the BRT Bridge, we learned that the bridge was not only going to be used by busses, but it would also have a pedestrian walkway.

“The approach employed to illuminate the bridge was to make the bridge iconic and interesting, and maybe also incorporate colors that are relevant and in line with the city’s theme.  We furthermore needed to ensure that we design the lighting such that we cater for the safety and security of the pedestrians and busses using the bridge,” says Retief Coetzer, senior lighting design engineer at BEKA Schréder.

Due to these requirements, we have had to design special LEDbeam luminaires which were used in conjunction with the OMNIstar floodlight. A DMX controller was used to control the lighting and colors for different color schemes. The side rails, cable structure and the top of the bridge were lit in such a way that it creates an iconic look while providing safety at the same time. CITEA LED luminaires illuminate the BRT route and pedestrian walkway.

“LED luminaires were the light source of choice, and BEKA Schréder was tasked to do the lighting design, and to select the best luminaires for the application. It all came together after the electrical installation by RJJ Projects for an awesome lighting effect”, says Dawid Janse van Vuuren from Royal HaskoningDHV.

Hatch was the consultant for implementing agent Johannesburg Development Agency, explains Cliff Weideman, who is the Project Manager and Contracts Engineer on-site for Hatch.

Colleen Luh, the BEKA Schréder Senior Sales Representative and Willie Opperman, the Regional Manager, have been involved in the design and conceptualization of this project from the beginning. A number of presentations were done to the involved Consultants and Architect, as well as JDA and City Power to ensure that the illumination and colour changing makes the BRT Bridge one of the iconic bridges in Johannesburg.

We are proud of our association with the electrical consulting engineers, Royal HaskoningDHV, and the electrical contractors, RJJ Projects, in providing a stunning decorative lighting solution for this prestigious project.

For more information, please contact Colleen Luh at c.luh@beka-schreder.co.za