Scotland: Forth Bridge painters have the job licked at last

[John Ashworth]

Forth Bridge painters have the job licked at last

The famously never-ending task of painting the bridge looks set to end after all thanks to a new, more resistant coating

David Batty
guardian.co.uk, Monday 5 September 2011 20.14 BST

Painting the Forth Bridge – famous for being a never-ending task – is set to come to an end.

A new, long-lasting paint being applied to the 54,000-tonne metal structure should mean that teams of workers will no longer need to start reapplying 214,000 litres of paint as soon as they finish the last coat, as has happened throughout most of its 120-year history. The new coating should last about 25 years.

Network Rail, which manages the 1.5-mile railway bridge across the Forth estuary, said contractors are scheduled to finish applying the more resistant paint, similar to that used on oil rigs, ahead of schedule on 9 December.

The refurbishment of the famous crossing between North and South Queensferry has taken 10 years and an investment of around £130m.

David Simpson, Network Rail Scotland's route managing director, said: "Over the last decade the bridge has been restored to its original condition and its new paint will preserve the steelworks for decades to come.

"Now, with scaffolding being removed and the final sections of painting being completed, we're confident that job will be finished before Christmas." The new paint is applied in three protective coats once the old layers have been removed using an abrasive blasting technique.

The bridge, with its three, red, diamond-shaped spans, was completed in 1890.

Engineering firm Balfour Beatty has been restoring the structure since 2002, blasting the steelwork back to bare metal before making repairs and applying the tough coating.

Marshall Scott, managing director of Balfour Beatty regional civil engineering, said: "The now fully-restored Forth Bridge will continue to operate for many decades to come and it will provide the world-renowned image that Scotland can be rightfully proud of."

He said bringing the bridge back to its original condition would act as a testament to the skills and expertise of those who built the "much-treasured structure" more than a century ago.

The project marks the "end of the modern myth" of the never-ending paint job, Balfour Beatty said, although in reality there have been periods when no paint has been applied.

The bridge, which was nominated as a Unesco world heritage site earlier this year, carries the east coast main line across the Forth Estuary and sees up to 200 train journeys a day.