South African construction company Aveng Manufacturing’s subsidiary, Aveng Manufacturing Infraset, last month completed Phase 1 of a tender awarded to it by the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipal- ity to replace copper-theft, syndicate-prone steel streetlighting poles with I-shaped pre- stressed-concrete poles in several of its munici-pal districts.

The tender entailed the supply of 800 con-crete poles for Phase 1 of the project.

“Steel poles are an easy target for copper-theft syndicates,” says Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality support services engineer Richard Baloyi.

Baloyi says it is not the poles themselves that are the target, but rather the copper content present in the light fittings, which is subsequently sold as scrap metal.

He stresses that the poles are being cut down on the municipality’s more remote and sparsely populated roads, specifically on the Springs–Brakpan, Springs–Nigel and Springs–Duduza routes.

Phase 1 of the replacement project, which started in June 2012, has focused on these areas, notes Baloyi.

The steel poles, which have not been damaged, are being replanted in the suburbs where the incidence of pole vandalism hardly exists.

Two lengths of concrete poles, 10 m and 11 m, both rated at 8 000 N, were supplied for the project, says Aveng Manufacturing Infraset product manager Mothemane Makhura.

Concrete poles were specified for the project, because, unlike steel poles, which are relatively easy to break or cut down, concrete is not, highlights Baloyi.

Moreover, concrete poles are rust-free and have longer life spans.

Meanwhile, Aveng Manufacturing Infraset is also replacing the underground copper cabling with overhead aluminium bundling. This means that the streetlighting will be far less vulnerable to theft.

The Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality regards streetlighting as indispensable in the fight against crime and this is why Aveng Manufacturing Infraset is treating this project as a matter of urgency, notes the company.

The design and project-management work for the replacement project is being handled by one company, while the actual installation work is being undertaken by several subcontractors, each employing between 10 and 20 people.

The concrete poles are being planted in manually dug holes, about 1.2 m deep, in strict compliance with the relevant health and safety regulations.

Makhura says the I-shape poles have a high strength-to-weight ratio and are suited to this type of installation as they make the mounting of street lighting both easy and secure, while their reduced weight makes them easy to offload and handle.

The Springs Phase 1 project poles, which were cast by Aveng Manufacturing Infraset at its Brakpan factory in high-strength, high-density concrete with a smooth finish, were also manufactured with earthing bars to protect them against lightning.

The resilience of prestressed-concrete poles, compared with any other type of structural material, enables them to recover from the effects of a greater degree of overload, notes Makhura.