The Nelson Mandela Bridge
The Nelson Mandela Bridge was a flagship project of Jozi My Jozi completed in 2025 - a deliberate signal that Joburg could be turned around.
The bridge has always been more than a crossing. Completed in 2003, this 284-metre cable-stayed structure, the largest of its kind in Southern Africa, spans 42
railway lines, stitching Braamfontein and Newtown together at the heart of Johannesburg. But for years, neglect and vandalism had dimmed its glow. Lighting
was stolen, glass panels shattered, graffiti crept across its walls, and pedestrians avoided it after dark.
The restoration included solar-powered LED lighting with programmable colour sequences. Eighty-one damaged glass panels were replaced. Graffiti removed, steel structures repainted, paving repaired, and crash barriers installed for pedestrian safety.
By June 2024, the bridge blazed back to life in the Joburg night sky.
But physical repair was only the beginning. Jozi My Jozi's defining commitment is to creative placemaking, the idea that art and culture don't decorate urban spaces, they transform them. Creative practitioners James Delaney and Farai Mafurirano of Moja Nation added curated placemaking interventions that celebrate the city's layered identity. Mosaic benches by Dionne MacDonald and the Spaza Arts Trust capture sunrise and sunset views over the Joburg skyline, with hadadas in flight, an invitation to pause, not just pass through. Bold geometric murals and stencil work by @dekor_one line the bridge walls, incorporating quotes from the preamble to the South African Constitution, grounding the space in the nation's founding values.
This project was funded by ABSA. PG Glass provided the glass panels, and installation support was provided by Govender's Aluminium & Glass. The bridge is the centrepiece of Jozi My Jozi's broader “Gateway Project”, targeting key entry points into the inner city.