USI Engineers in Action chapter to discuss largest pedestrian footbridge build in South Africa
WHO: Four students—Melanie Cedano ’24, Miguel Pinto ’25, Josiah Hollis ’25 and Jonas Hollis ’27—from the University’s Engineers in Action (EIA) chapter, and Dr. Susan Ely, Assistant Professor of Engineering
WHAT: Students and faculty will discuss their experience from their summer 2024 EIA bridge build in the Lubombo region of eSwatini in southern Africa—the longest bridge built to date at more than 106 feet. The pedestrian footbridge connects two isolated communities to shops, schools, clinics, co-ops, churches and more. The bridge, completed in a little less than two months, benefits over 4,000 residents, including over 1,800 children. The previous bridge was in a state of disrepair after seasonal flooding. The new bridge ensures a year-round safe passage for members of the communities.
In addition to USI as a lead University, the project included students from Eastern Mennonite University and the University of Iowa.
This is USI’s ffith bridge project with previous builds in Bolivia, Virginia and Africa.
WHEN: The media event will be held at 8 a.m. Tuesday, September 24. It will begin at 8 a.m. promptly, so please arrive early to set up.
WHERE: The event will be held in the Business and Engineering Center (BEC), room 0030. A map of the USI campus, featuring the BEC, can be found at USI.edu/map.
*A select number of media parking spots will be reserved in Lot J. You can view Lot J at USI.edu/map by toggling to “Parking” on the left “Map Layers” sidebar.
Video and audio recording is encouraged during the media event, and we will make video clips and photos of the construction and finished bridge available following the event. A full press release will also be available.
