Ashton

Ashton is a small town in the Western Cape in South Africa. The town is at the foot of the Langeberg mountain range, 10 km southwest of Montagu and 19 km east-southeast of Robertson. It is situated in a valley known for production of wines and fruit. Ashton is known for its canning factory, which has faced economic challenges in recent years. Ashton is also home to various tourist attractions, including vineyards and the Ashton Steam Locomotive.

History

Ashton was established in 1897 on the Roodewal farm and attained municipal status in January 1956. The town was named after the first station-master.

Ashton Arch Bridge

In 2021, after 7 years of planning and construction, the bridge was finally opened. The 110-metre-long bridge is something to behold – it is a first for South Africa in its transverse launching method and provides some comedic architecture for families heading on holiday. The Ashton Arch Bridge, located on Trunk Road 31 crossing the Cogmanskloof river, was built to improve traffic and pedestrian safety and improve flood capacity and resistance to overtopping. It is South Africa’s first concrete tied arch bridge constructed using a traverse launching method and the bridge is close to the starting point of the famous Route 62. The previous bridge was built in the 1930s and had upgrades in the 1950s, but ultimately no longer fulfilled its functional requirements, inter alia service life, width, and hydraulic capacity. Flooding was a frequent problem which cut off the route between Ashton and Montagu, and thus the bridge had to be replaced.