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      I was 33 years old and a full-time farmer. I designed and built the project to suit the existing topographical conditions and had to select the site by local inspection and with the help  of the aerial photographs, to scale, of the then Department of Agriculture.

      Of great importance was that I had already sourced the main components of major cost, like the two carrier cables as well as the haulage cables, these were available gratis from the EP Cement quaries at Lime Bank Loerie. They operated an 11 Km cable-way from the quarry at Lime Bank to Loerie station and replaced various components at certain time intervals, as part of their regular maintenance program.  After making enquiries  they offered to let me have whatever I needed from the discarded stock.

      If not for this most generous offer, the cost of cables alone, would have been so prohibitive as to render the project completely beyond my financial capabilities.

      The span across the gorge was, or is, 410 meters and

the depth 387 meters. The carrying capacity was 5 tons. For comparison I might mention that the Bloukranz bridge Which is the  highest in South Africa is built 216 meters above the river-bed with a span of 272 meters.

 

http://highestbridges.com  Lists the following bridges as highest in the world.
No other bridge in history has been more associated with being the “World’s Highest” than the Royal Gorge bridge, located in the U.S. state of Colorado. Constructed in 1929, the bridge was the highest suspension bridge in the world for nearly 75 years with a roadway 291 meters above the Arkansas river. In 2001,China opened an even higher gorge crossing in the form of the Liuguanghe bridge, a concrete beam span with a deck 297 meters high. Then in 2003, China opened the  366 meters high Beipanjiang River bridge,

      While the Royal Gorge Bridge no longer holds any world records, this Rocky Mountain wonder of wire and wood is still the highest bridge in the United States and one of the most popular destinations in the state of Colorado with more than 500,000 visitors a year. Since its construction, the Royal Gorge has become much more than a bridge but an entire park that includes more than a dozen attractions that can keep you busy for an entire day.

 The success of these two attractions eventually led to the 1969 installation of an aerial tram which glides 305 meters above the river. The 35 passenger cabins offer a spectacular view of the bridge on a 670 meter long trip across the canyon.

 

      I had to have close on 1200 meters of carrier cable available to drag the two strands through the gorge on ground surface, and have enough slack available to work with for straining etc. To bring the first high-strain steel wire manually through the gorge took more than six weeks. My usual farm workers assisted me with this almost impossible task, while I directed them with hand signals, aided by a pair of high-powered binoculars.